


Cecily Yemen and The Solemn Professor

by Frost1hm



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Potterheads - Fandom, Severus Snape - Fandom
Genre: Amazing, Eventual Sex, F/M, Fanart, Gryffindor, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Hufflepuff, Legilimency, Legilimens, Love, Occlumency, Original Art, Patronus, Ravenclaw, Romance, Sad, Slytherin, Smut, Violence, Well-Written
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-11 00:47:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7868638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frost1hm/pseuds/Frost1hm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(BACK FROM HIATUS) Cecily Yemen is a new 6th year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is immediately noticed by a certain snarky potions master...for one painfully obvious reason. Can student and professor co-exist without breaking boundaries? Find out! (The year is 2005-2006) (This work of fan-fiction contains chapter artwork created by myself, the author, H. M. Frost.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning of Ends

**Author's Note:**

> This work of fan-fiction is NOT being published for profits.  
> This work of fan-fiction includes mature content.  
> You must be 18 YEARS or older to read this work of fan-fiction.  
> The world and characters of Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, who has been so kind to us, the fans, as to let us borrow this world for our own fictional works.  
> All art contained in this fan-fiction is my (H. M. Frost's) own original work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ABOUT THE ART: In this drawing, I wanted to express all of Severus' pain that he kept internalized in his eyes. After-all, the eyes are windows to the soul...and they never lie.

 

*** * * Seventeen Years Ago * * ***

  
He held onto her tightly, rocking back and forth, his body wracked with sobs. His grief so strong that it ripped and clawed its way out of him through his throat in screams of agony. He couldn’t remember how long he had been holding her, or how long he had been yelling. His throat was raw and his joints ached, but all that he could feel was her…lifeless in his arms. He didn’t even notice the thunder rolling in the distance, threatening a storm. Nor the child crying in the crib behind him. Everything that mattered was laying still in his arms. No matter how he begged or how he shook her…she remained still.

  
There was a loud clap as a man suddenly appeared at the center of the ruined room, as if from thin air. He was tall, with long white hair and a matching beard that hung down to his shoulders. He was silent for a long moment, taking in the scene around him with his brilliant blue eyes, framed by half-moon spectacles. “You must leave. The ministry will be here soon.” He said urgently, but not unkindly.

  
He could only shake his head and hold onto her even tighter, whimpering with the effort it took just to breathe. It felt as if his grief were ripping away at him to remove his very soul.

  
“Severus…” The man pleaded, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  
Severus yanked his shoulder away from the man’s touch. “You swore…you swore you’d keep her safe.” He gasped, his voice cracking under the weight of his grief.

  
“I did all in my power to…”

  
But Severus cut him off, louder and stronger this time. “You swore you’d keep her safe!” He seethed, laying the woman he was holding gently on the ground as he stood.

  
“Severus…please.”

  
Grief began to turn to rage in Severus as he stalked toward the man, grabbing him by the front of his robes. “YOU SWORE! You swore you’d keep her safe!” He yelled, shaking the man slightly. “You swore to keep them all safe, Albus!”

  
Thunder peeled across the sky as raindrops gently began to fall. The men stared at one another for a long time. Severus’ teeth were clenched and barred, his nostrils flared, and his breath had quickened with his rage. But his eyes held no anger in them…only deep sorrow.

  
The other man, Albus Dumbledore, kept his face devoid of emotion…his eyes holding only pity for the man before him. “The boy lives.” He whispered.

  
Beyond Severus’ pain he could finally hear the baby crying. He shoved Dumbledore away from him and fell back to his knees beside the woman. All that mattered was her. Severus tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear, whispering softly “Lily…” He closed her beautiful green eyes and bent down to gently kiss her forehead, tears streaming down his face.

  
Dumbledore approached Severus again, speaking gently. “There is no more you can do for her Severus…come.” He held out his soft, wrinkled hand for Severus to take.

  
Severus ignored Dumbledore as he continued to look at Lily, trying to will her with all his might to open her eyes.

  
“We must go now, Severus.”

  
Severus never took his eyes from Lily as he whispered. “What about the boy…what about Harry?”

  
“I will send someone for him, Severus. We must go…the Ministry.”

  
It took everything in Severus to stand and allow Dumbledore to take his hand, apparating them away from the scene. He had just enough time to look back at the child in the crib, meeting his eyes…his green eyes. “Lily…”

 

  
*** * * Present Day * * ***

  
Cecily stood in line with a group of first year students, waiting to enter the Great Hall. There was a buzz of excitement around her as the first years whispered enthusiastically about how they’d be sorted into their houses. Cecily, on the other hand, was very shy and chose instead to nervously fidget with a loose thread on the sleeve of her second-hand robes. She took every opportunity she could to keep her eyes down-cast and hidden behind her fiery curtains of red hair. All the better to keep from drawing attention to herself.

  
Cecily felt incredibly out of place among the first years. Her parents had decided to move to England in order to be closer to her grandparents; thereby, having to leave her old school. Cecily would be in her seventh year at Wrighten’s Academy for the Wizarding Arts in America. Cecily was very bright and gifted for a witch of her age, already practicing magic well beyond that of her peers’ abilities. However, Cecily would be repeating her sixth year due to differences in the academic curriculum between her old school and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _Pfft, Hogwarts? More like hogwash!_ At this thought, Cecily shooed away a rather shabby looking cat that was rubbing itself about her ankles, in order to vent her annoyance. The cat gave her a disdainful look as it hissed and sulked off to find its owner.

  
“Upsetting Mrs. Norris could land you detention with Filch...and on your first day? No one wants that.”

  
Cecily turned in the direction of the voice to see a tall pale boy with slicked back bleach-blonde hair. He would have been rather handsome if not for the sneer permanently attached to his features. He was also flanked by two rather brutish looking lads that didn’t seem like they would know the handle of a broomstick unless you showed it to them…and even then it was questionable if they could figure out its purpose. Cecily raised her eyebrow slightly as she looked at the boy.

  
He smiled unnaturally and extended his hand, “I’m Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. I’m in Slytherin, sixth year.” He said proudly, puffing out his chest.

  
Cecily looked at the boy’s hand and then back at his face before turning her back to him, instead returning her attention back to the loose thread on the sleeve of her robes. The boy, Malfoy, scowled darkly and signaled his friends to follow him as they entered the Great Hall. The first years impatiently tried to peek around the trio in order to get a glimpse of the Great Hall, but failed to see past the bulk of the two brutish boys trailing after Malfoy.

  
A few moments later a strict looking witch in emerald green robes stepped out of the doors leading to the Great Hall. Her lips were pressed firmly together in a thin line as she looked over the crowd of newcomers. “First years, may I have your attention, please? Very good. Now, my name is Professor McGonagall. In a few moments you will pass through these doors to be sorted into your respective houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.” Cecily couldn’t help but notice the last word seemed to taste foul on the witch’s tongue. “While you’re here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn your house points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points…”

  
Cecily once again returned to fidgeting with the loose thread on her sleeve, losing interest long ago in anything the stern witch may have to say.

  
“…Do I make myself perfectly clear?” Professor McGonagall pinched her lips even tighter together as her eyes fell upon Cecily not paying attention. McGonagall withdrew her wand from the pocket of her robes and pointed it directly at Cecily. The first years around her gasped and ducked for cover. “Diffindo” Professor McGonagall uttered as she flicked her wand. There was a flash of subtle green light as the loose thread of Cecily’s robes was cut neatly. Cecily looked up at the professor in surprise with the cut thread still pinched between her fingers.

  
“Now that I have your attention, perhaps we may enter the Great Hall?”

  
Cecily nodded but said nothing.

  
Professor McGonagall nodded curtly. “Very well, line-up single file everyone.”

  
Cecily chose to stay at the very back of the line, the doors to the Great Hall opened and the group began to enter one by one.

  
The Great Hall was a magnificent sight to behold. Cecily had read about Hogwarts before coming to England. However, she was still amazed by the majestic floating candles, shimmering ghosts, and the bewitched ceiling which currently reflected a clear, beautiful, starry night sky. There were four long tables where the students sat that extended nearly the entire length of the hall. With the exception of the staff table, which was set upon a raised platform at the front of the hall and extended its entire width.

  
Cecily was looking up and down the staff table, trying to get an idea of who her teachers might be when her eyes fell upon a set of intense, dark black eyes boring into her emerald green ones. The man these eyes belonged to was sitting at a place at the very end of the staff’s table with his elbows propped on the arms of his chair and his fingertips touching. His head was ever so slightly bowed forward and his full but thin lips were slightly pursed as he considered her. He had lank black hair that framed his face with a large hooked nose that most would consider to be an odd protuberance. He was wearing all black robes that had many buttons down the front with a white collared shirt beneath.

  
Cecily shifted nervously but couldn’t bring herself to look away from those intense eyes. She felt a subtle warm tingling begin at her temples and spread over her scalp. Because of her advanced knowledge she gained from her previous school, she was able to recognize this as legilimency being cast upon her. She quickly used what she knew of occlumency to ward her mind against the subtle attack. The man tilted his head to the side slightly as the corner of his mouth curled briefly in amusement. Cecily quickly dropped her eyes breathing heavily as she moved to stand behind a rather tall first year girl.

  
Cecily couldn’t understand for the life of her why this strange professor would want to go prodding around through her mind. All she knew was that this professor was an adept legilimens, it had taken a great deal for her to ward him off and she had a suspicion that he was not using his abilities to even remotely his fullest extent. He was surely expecting her to be uneducated in the art of occlumency. Cecily attempted to sneak a peek at the man when she noticed he was still starring at her intently. She quickly looked away, forcing all of her attention on Professor McGonagall again who had just brought out a stool and a very forlorn and tattered looking hat.

  
The brim of the hat, much to Cecily’s surprise, split wide open and began to sing. Cecily took the opportunity to take another glance at the professor and was relieved to see he was watching the sorting hat. His fingertips were still pressed together, though he was now sitting relaxed in his seat. He must have sensed Cecily starring at him because his eyes quickly snapped back onto hers as the corner of his mouth twitched with amusement once again.

  
The hat stopped singing and Professor McGonagall pulled a thick scroll from her robes. “When I call your name, you will place the sorting hat on your head and join your house.” The professor unsealed the scroll as it unraveled and nearly touched the floor. “Amous, Sean.” A broad-shouldered boy sat upon the stool as he dropped the hat over his eyes. The brim of the hat once again opened wide with a cry of “Ravenclaw!” Sean joined the cheering Ravenclaw table, smiling broadly.

  
The sorting seemed to drag on forever, Cecily spent most of her time chancing glances at the mysterious professor while also attempting to dodge his own glances at her.

  
“Last but not least, we have a sixth-year transfer student from Wrighten’s Academy of the Wizarding Arts in America! Yemen, Cecily.”

  
Cecily could feel the whole room starring at her, including the intense, boring eyes of the nameless professor. Cecily stepped up onto the platform and sat gingerly on the stool as the sorting hat fell over her eyes. For a moment all was silent until a small voice whispered in her ear. “My my my…such a wonderful mind…so much promise…such ambition. Hmm…Ravenclaw? ...No, there’s so much more here…bravery, compassion…Gryffindor traits…maybe…no. Ah yes! Only one house could possibly satisfy such brilliance! Better be…SLYTHERIN!”

  
Cecily walked on shaky legs to the Slytherin table as her hand was shook by many cheering Slytherins, including a sly-grinning Malfoy. Cecily looked around to the staff table seeing the black eyes of the mysterious professor on her once more. His lips were set in a straight line as he clapped slowly starring into her eyes, intently focused. She felt that warm tingling spread across her scalp but couldn’t focus enough to conjure up her wards in time, due to all the commotion around her. The warm tingling became intense waves that finally squeezed around her and entered her mind, sending ripples of ecstasy through her nerve endings. Cecily gasped softly in pleasure as her eyes glazed over and her breathing became shallow, still maintaining eye contact with the professor. A slow, deep, and silken voice echoed through her mind like a tender caress. “Well done…” and all too soon the warm sensations were ripped away as the legilimency was broken. The professor’s lips curled once more as he continued to stare at Cecily, bowing his head slightly at her in acknowledgement. Cecily shivered as she dropped her gaze from the professor’s, blushing profusely.

  
Cecily took her seat at the Slytherin table next to Malfoy as he pushed one of his burly friends out of the way to make room. A very old looking wizard at the center of the staff table stood up, raising both his hands in the air to call for silence. He had long white hair with a beard to match that could be tucked into his belt. He wore half-moon spectacles that did little to hide the brilliant twinkle of his shockingly blue eyes. “I know you are all famished so I shall keep this brief. As a reminder, the forest on the school grounds is forbidden to all Hogwarts students. Filch has posted a list of banned items as well that you may view in your common rooms. Also, if any of you come across a pair of fluffy, pink ear muffs, I would be glad to see them returned.” At this the old wizard and many staff and students chuckled warmly. “Now…tuck in!” The empty plates and goblets magically filled themselves with warm food and drink as Cecily smiled to herself and indeed tucked in.

  
_Maybe Hogwarts wouldn’t be so bad after all_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


	2. Potions Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ABOUT THE ART: This drawing is my attempt to portray the passion that exists between Cecily and Severus. I also wanted the readers to have an idea of what Cecily looks like.

 

Cecily was running down the dungeon corridor as fast as her legs would carry her. She had just gotten out of her divination class, what a waste of time, and got turned around several times trying to navigate her way down to the dungeons for potions class. None of the corridors seemed to stay the same in Hogwarts. The staircases were forever changing and Cecily was convinced that many of the statues and suits of armor also changed their positions. It really didn’t help that many of the paintings’ occupants would step out to visit their neighbors either.

 

By the time Cecily made her way down to the dungeons, she was already 5 minutes late for class. Cecily opened the door to the potions classroom and chose to sit at a table alone at the very back of the class. She started busying herself with unpacking her wand, cauldron, ingredients, scale set, and textbook. That was when she noticed the professor for the class had not arrived yet.

 

“Excuse me,” She asked the students sitting at the table in front of hers. “This class starts at 3, right?”

 

A pug faced Slytherin girl nodded. “Yes, the professor just went to take one of the Gryffindor dolts to the hospital wing.” The boy sitting beside the girl laughed and turned around to join the conversation. “Longbottom just caught the business end of a bogie curse, Pansy.” Malfoy said, as he blew a puff of air at the tip of his wand. Pansy, the girl next to him, burst out into a fit of high-pitched giggles. Cecily laughed weakly, but otherwise had nothing left to say to the couple.

 

Just then, the door to the potions classroom banged open. The students fell completely silent, their heads snapping to the direction of the door. Cecily jumped slightly and looked up to see none other than the professor from her first day at Hogwarts. He looked menacingly around at the students, as if looking for any excuse to send someone to detention…or worse. “Wands away…” he breathed in that silky voice that Cecily had only heard once before in her mind. However, there was no warmth to it now. As the professor was still skimming the room, his eyes fell briefly on Cecily before quickly returning to her for a double-take. Cecily took the opportunity to duck behind the table making a show of storing her wand in her bag, taking much longer than usual in order to avoid drawing the professor’s attention.

 

The professor closed the door gently behind him as he turned to face the class, leaning slightly on his desk. Cecily, having stored her wand sat back in her seat to find the professor’s eyes were focused on her. Her eyes widened as she tried to make herself as small as possible in her seat. The professor smirked at her discomfort before addressing the class again. “My name is professor Snape, you are to address me as such. However, Sir is also acceptable…possibly even preferred.” He rarely seemed to take his eyes off of Cecily as he spoke. Cecily noted how softly the professor spoke and how silent the classroom remained. It appeared that no one dared to interrupt the potions master. Cecily hoped this was out of respect rather than fear.

 

“Your minds are empty vessels that I have been, begrudgingly, assigned to fill. You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making…though I highly doubt many of you will be able to appreciate the elegance and beauty of such an art.” Professor Snape walked around his desk, placing both hands upon its surface as he leaned forward, starring down his students as he continued to speak in just above a whisper. “I can teach you to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses…to bottle fame and brew glory…even stopper death. That is, if you are not as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have the displeasure of teaching.”

 

Cecily couldn’t believe the professor spoke to his students in such a manner but tried her best to appear unfazed by the verbal abuse. The classroom remained silent for several long moments. “Very well…open your books to page 94, you are to prepare a sleeping draught. Consider this a test of your knowledge…yes, a test…and on your first day.” The potions master sneered, he seemed to take great pleasure in the nervous glances his students exchanged as they set about preparing their ingredients. Cecily, on the other hand, was not nervous at all but rather giddy at the prospect of brewing the potion. She had learned to brew a sleeping draught in her second year at Wrighten’s.

 

Cecily began to crush the juice from her beetle eyes when she felt that nagging feeling that she was being watched. Cecily looked up from her work and into the dark black eyes of Professor Snape. He was standing at the front of the class with his arms crossed. Cecily blushed and went back to crushing her beetle eyes. Deciding the best course of action would be to ignore the professor’s glares altogether in order to focus on her potion.

 

The professor smiled inwardly, sensing her frustration as he began to pace between the rows of tables, checking the student’s work as he went. “Ms. Granger, did you not hear me when I clearly stated this to be a test?” Professor Snape took his wand from the pocket of his robes and emptied the contents of the red-haired boy’s cauldron sitting beside the Granger girl. “Start again Weasley, 10 points from Gryffindor.” The red-haired boy scowled darkly at the professor’s back. A dark haired boy beside him with glasses touched his arm, shaking his head at him as if telling him not to react. Cecily knew the boy to be Harry Potter, she had seen him around the castle but never spoke to him. She never cared much for delving into the lives of the famous…people deserved their privacy. However, sometimes she would catch him gawking at her out of the corner of her eye. This always unnerved her. Professor Snape continued on to the next table.

 

Cecily’s potion was nearly complete, currently an aqua shade of blue. All she had to do was add one more ingredient and get the stirring pattern right for it to turn clear and tasteless…then it would be complete. Cecily started to shave fine layers off of her boomslang skin when she heard the professor’s voice dangerously close to her work station. “Excellent, Mr. Malfoy. However, next time add the beetle eyes before bringing the cauldron to a simmer.” He said softly. Malfoy was obviously one of his favored students. “Thank you professor, I’ll definitely give that a go.” Snape nodded his head curtly and moved on.

 

Cecily panicked a bit as she realized the professor would be coming to her soon. She carefully added the boomslang skin as she turned down the flame under her cauldron. She was preparing to stir when she felt someone standing close behind her…too close. Cecily swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat as she looked over her shoulder to see the professor standing not an inch away from her. “Your potion should not be left to simmer for too long Ms. Cecily…” he purred in her ear. Cecily barely acknowledging that he addressed her by her first name. Cecily began to stir the potion, her hand shaking. _Two stirs clockwise, one counter_ she repeated in her mind, trying desperately to ignore the heat radiating from the professor’s body so close to her own. “Slowly, Ms. Cecily…” He drew out the “s” sound of her name, his lips nearly pressed to her ear. Cecily’s breath quickened and became shallow as she tried to focus with all her might on stirring…not on the professor’s warm breath against her neck and ear. _Two stirs…just two…no one counter...don’t forget to counter…damn it!_ “

 

Allow me to show you.” The potions master placed his hand over her own on the stirring spoon as he stepped into her, pressing his body against the back of her own. “It’s one fluid motion…no pause between the changes in direction…” He breathed deliciously into her ear. “One, two, one…” He recited repeatedly, guiding her hand with his own elegantly. She noticed the warmth of his hand upon her own and could just make out small calluses from extensive potion work. Cecily was beginning to feel weak in the knees and light headed as the professor pressed his hips firmly into Cecily, forcing her own hips to press against the edge of the table, effectively trapping her between himself and her work station. Her breath was now sharp and batted as the professor wrapped his free hand around her hip to hold her firmly against him. She felt the unmistakable weight of a firm, heavy organ against the small of her back as she desperately fought the urge to lean back against the professor.

 

They stayed that way for a long moment until Cecily’s potion turned crystal clear. “Perfect” the professor whispered into her ear as he pulled away from Cecily. Her legs were weak and trembling as she sat down on a stool so she wouldn’t fall over. “Excellent work Ms. Yemen, full marks and 5 points to Slytherin.” Cecily couldn’t bring herself to look at her professor as she fought to catch her breath, a flush creeping over her skin. “Class is dismissed, pack up your belongings and return any borrowed ingredients to their proper place…or be hexed.” Cecily quickly emptied her cauldron and packed away her things as she hurried to leave the classroom, being the first student out the door. The potions master chuckled to himself as he sat at his desk, leaning back and pressing his fingertips together as he so often did. He was going to thoroughly enjoy tormenting the young witch, today was indeed a test…and he found her very receptive to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


	3. Of Scents and Sense

 

Cecily locked herself in the empty dormitory, her roommates were still in class and she had a free period. She carelessly threw her school bag in the corner of the room. Her skin burned and her clothes felt irritating against her skin. She began to undress, leaning her naked form against the cool stone wall of the dormitory. She kept thinking about how her professor had touched her and tormented her with his voice. At first, she had thought it may have been a misunderstanding…but there was no explaining away his hand on her hip…or the erection pressing into her back. Cecily was jogged from her thoughts as she realized her hands were moving lazily over her body, he had obviously had an effect on her. She sighed softly in pleasure as she moved her hands over her breasts, squeezing and tugging at her nipples gently as she bit her bottom lip in pleasure. All the while, thinking of her professor’s lips and tongue working over her sensitive peaks. She moaned and gasped softly as the pleasure from stimulating her breasts made her clit throb, craving attention.

Unable to ignore the pulsing any longer, Cecily moved her hand slowly down her body, keeping the other on her breast as she dipped a finger into the slit between her legs. “Oh my God!” she breathed as she pulled her finger away again to find it coated in her juices. She had been barely able to feel her clitoris due to her slit being flooded with her own arousal. She must have started getting aroused while the potions master tormented her, but she never imagined she could ever be so wet. Cecily’s pussy clenched excitedly at the thought of her potions master as she laid down in her bed, spreading her legs wide as she let her hands roam over her body. She gently glided her fingertips along the insides of her thighs, shivering deliciously.

Cecily whimpered softly as her legs trembled in need, her slit glistening wet as she moved her hand between her legs to circle her finger around her clit. Her hips bucked slightly as her finger came into contact with the sensitive bud. She couldn’t believe how sensitive she was as she pushed a finger deep inside of herself. The walls of her pussy tightened around her finger as she shuddered. She quickly moved her other hand between her legs to rub her clit, pushing her over the edge as she gasped and moaned loudly. She felt her body tighten and then shatter into complete ecstasy as she continued to move her hands over her sex, wanting it to last as long as possible. Cecily panted heavily as she lay on her bed with her legs still spread wide, bringing her fingers to her lips to taste her pleasure. She sighed softly as she realized she was not satisfied…she felt as if she had eaten a chip when she wanted the entire bag to sate her hunger. She groaned inwardly as she rolled over onto her stomach, pulling the blankets around her.

Cecily was scared, but at the same time intrigued by her professor’s attraction to her. Granted, he was not the most attractive man she had met…but he did have his own dark, seductive beauty. He was an eloquent and intelligent man…all traits that Cecily held in high regard. Cecily smiled to herself, feeling rather risqué as she closed her eyes to take an afternoon nap. She knew she would need to use the scouring charm on herself before dinner in the Great Hall and her next class…Defense Against the Dark Arts.

*** * * * * ***

The potions master shuddered intensely, throwing his head back as a guttural moan escaped his lips. He gritted his teeth as his seed spilled over the hand gripping his huge cock tightly. His hair was disheveled and stuck to his sweaty face as he leaned back in his chair breathing erratically. Professor Snape was seated in front of his fireplace in his private quarters. He thought he could control his desires for the young witch and yet…here he was gripping his cock with the memory of her firm body pressed against his own to serve as fuel for his delicious fantasies. “Scourgify” he panted as he waved his wand over the mess he had made. Immediately his spent seed disappeared as he gingerly tucked his still stiff cock back into his pants.

Severus Snape gathered himself as he stood up on shaky legs to pour himself a firewhisky. The truth of the matter was that he was drawn to the young witch for one painfully obvious reason…he recognized it the moment she stepped off the Hogwarts express and entered the Great Hall. She looked remarkably like Lily Evans. Cecily had the fiery red hair, green eyes, and even Lily’s smile. Severus was even more shocked to discover that Cecily also possessed talent. Like Lily Evans, Cecily was the brightest witch of her year…even outshining the insufferable know-it-all Hermione Granger. He was delighted that Cecily was sorted into his house. However, he was also conflicted…how would he maintain his composure around her? Especially after today’s current events. Severus downed his firewhisky, making his way out of his quarters to attend dinner in the Great Hall, the fiery witch still haunting every corner of his mind.

*** * * * * ***

“Scourgify” Cecily muttered as she pulled herself out of bed and got dressed in her school robes again. She looked in the mirror, fixing her long red hair before leaving the dormitories. Cecily made her way through the common room, sliding back the stone wall to enter the dungeon’s corridor. Severus had just finished warding his rooms when he noticed the wall to the Slytherin common room slide open to reveal the fiery, red-haired witch that was occupying his thoughts.

“Ms. Yemen, may I have a word?” The professor droned.

Cecily nodded her head, keeping her eyes down-cast as she followed the professor to the potions classroom next door to his private rooms. Professor Snape opened the door to his classroom for Cecily, allowing her to walk in before coming in behind her and locking and warding the door so no one would hear them or be able to just barge in. The potions master sat on the edge of a nearby table, crossing his arms as he looked at Cecily with those intense eyes. Cecily remained standing by the door, twisting her hands nervously.

“Cecily” Professor Snape whispered softly, almost kindly.

“Yes professor?” Cecily asked, keeping her eyes down-cast.

The potions master chuckled lowly in his throat as he approached the young witch standing so close in front of her that she could see herself reflected in his shiny black shoes. “Do I frighten you, witch?”

Cecily hesitated and then shook her head.

Professor Snape put his finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him gently. “Then why, pray-tell, can’t you look at me when I speak to you?” He asked softly, stepping even closer to Cecily as his lips pursed slightly.

Cecily looked into the professor’s eyes seeing such intense heat behind them.

“Well?” he asked in his most soothing voice.

“I…I don’t…I…I can’t tell you that…Sir.”

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously as he wrapped his hand lightly around her neck, slowly backing her against the door. Cecily wished she could melt into the door to escape the overwhelming sensations battling through her body as the professor moved his thumb gently up and down the column of her neck. He was staring at her so intensely she thought she might burst into flames, her skin was so warm.

The potions master closed his eyes as he sniffed the air subtly, taking in a deep slow breath. “I can smell you witch. Your heat, your…arousal.” The professor purred the last word, leaning ever closer to her as his eyes glossed over.

Cecily clamped her thighs tightly together, shaking noticeably. Apparently the scourgify spell hadn’t taken care of her scent.

The professor captured one of her hands in his as he pressed his nose against her finger tips, breathing in her scent. “Yes…you pleasured yourself quite recently.” His breath quickened noticeably as he massaged the back of her hand with his thumb.

Cecily began to feel her legs shake as she leaned against the door for support. “Professor…please…” she breathed shaking in obvious passion.

Professor Snape leaned in close, his lips hovering over Cecily’s, a hair width away from touching, “Anything witch…just ask it.” He whispered ever so softly, his warm breath caressing Cecily’s overly sensitive lips.  
Cecily swallowed several times, trying to get rid of the tight feeling in her throat so she could speak. “Dinner…Great Hall…Hungry.” Cecily managed to rasp out as she slowly slid away from the potions master and slipped out the door.

Severus pressed his forehead against the door, shaking his head back and forth. “Severus, you’re a perfect arse.” He whispered to himself as he wrenched open the door. Peeves was “fixing” one of the paintings in the corridor to fall on student passerby. Normally, Severus would approve…but he was in a rather snarky mood. Severus flicked his wand at Peeves who went zooming head first into the painting, being sucked inside. Instead of going to the Great Hall, Severus decided to take his meal in his quarters tonight so he could hopefully regain his composure before having to teach his next class…Defense Against the Dark Arts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


	4. Whose Patronus?

Cecily had to admit that she was relieved Professor Snape had not attended dinner that night. She didn’t think she could contain herself under his intense gaze any longer. She replayed what had happened just moments ago in her mind as she felt her thighs immediately begin to slicken with her arousal. Cecily sighed and rested her forehead on the table, pushing away her plate of food.

“You look like you could use a good shag.”

Cecily jumped as she looked in the direction of the voice. Malfoy was sitting next to her, smiling his sly, fox grin.

“Ugh! Go away Malfoy.” Cecily groaned as she put her forehead back on the table.

Malfoy laughed, sitting closer to Cecily. “I was only joking, have you heard? They’re selecting a new Slytherin Prefect. Pansy’s mum is sending her to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.”

“Pfft, good luck! With that pug mug of hers?” Cecily muttered with her head still pressed against the table.

Malfoy grinned, but continued on with what he was saying. “…anyway, I heard you’re a prime candidate. I’m also a prefect.” Malfoy exclaimed, pointing to his badge proudly.

“Perfect!” Cecily groaned, unenthusiastically. Cecily lifted her head from the table and checked her watch. “We’d better head to Defense Against the Dark Arts, we’re going to be late.”

Malfoy nodded and walked to class with Cecily, offering to carry her bag for her several times. Cecily distractedly turned down his offer repeatedly, the potions master still corrupting her thoughts. Malfoy opened the classroom door for her and made a point to sit beside her, much to her displeasure. Cecily pretended to be busy looking up something in her text book as she waited with the rest of the class for the professor. Finally, the professor entered the classroom. Cecily looked up and groaned inwardly as professor Snape came into view.

Professor Snape gave no sign that he even noticed Cecily, which she felt he was doing intentionally. He did, however, appear especially snarky. “Today we will be learning to conjure patronuses.” Severus exclaimed through clenched teeth, he was rather tense due to his last confrontation with Cecily.

Malfoy raised his hand, “But professor, that’s seventh year stuff…”

Professor Snape’s eyes darkened as he considered Malfoy. “Are you telling me you are incapable of learning magic beyond your year? Does the concept of achieving a higher standard of excellence in my class bewilder you?”

“N…No professor.” Malfoy’s ears turned pink in embarrassment and Cecily actually felt rather bad for him.

“Very well then…open your books to page 394, study the diagram, break into pairs, and practice.”

The bushy haired girl from Cecily’s potions class raised her hand. “Professor, perhaps you could demonstrate a patronus for us?”

“Ms. Granger, if I wanted to perform a patronus for you simple minded imps, I would have. 5 points from Gryffindor for your cheek.”

Once again, Cecily was giddy at the prospect of performing the patronus charm. She had practiced the charm her previous year at Wrighten’s. Because she already knew how to conjure her patronus, she let Malfoy practice his and tried to give him helpful suggestions. As the students all practiced summoning their patronuses, the classroom became full of silvery mist.

Professor Snape stood from his desk and immediately the class fell silent. “When I call your name, you will step forward and demonstrate your ability to perform the patronus charm. You will be graded on proper wand movement, spell annunciation, and the clarity of the form your patronus takes…I suspect many of you will only manage to produce clouds of mist.” The professor said scornfully, looking at the mist still hanging in the air. “Mr. Malfoy, you first.”

Malfoy stood at the front of the class. His wand movement was perfect, and his annunciation flawless…however, he was only able to conjure silver mist. The same held true for many of the students; even Hermione Granger seemed to have trouble with the spell, producing a form that was fuzzy and hard to recognize.

“Ms. Yemen, let’s see if you can do any better…though I highly doubt it.” The professor said without looking at Cecily.

Cecily stood at the front of the class trying to think of a happy memory but could only think of the potions master…that snarky bastard! Cecily took a deep breath as she waved her wand precisely, “Expecto-Patronum!” A large, bright figure shot from the end of Cecily’s wand tip, it cantered around the room before approaching the potions master. It bowed its head as it continued to walk toward him. Professor Snape backed away from the figure, a pained expression on his face as he fell and scrambled backward against a wall, raising his arms to shield himself.

“STOP! End it you stupid girl!” He shouted as Cecily quickly ended the spell.

Professor Snape stood, flipping a desk over in anger. “Get out! All of you!”

Everyone bolted for the door, putting as much distance between them and the professor as physically possible. Cecily took one last look through the window of the classroom door to see the professor kneeling on the floor wracked with heavy sobs. Cecily felt a pang in her chest as she considered trying to console the professor. She decided against it as she sluggishly made her way back to the Slytherin common room, feeling guilty for something she could not even begin to understand.

*** * * * * ***

Severus made his way back to his chambers, using a disillusionment charm so no one would see the tears streaming down his face if he were to run into anyone. Thankfully, the corridors were clear. Severus entered the door to his chambers, warding and locking it as he grabbed an empty glass and the bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky. Severus magically lit a fire in the fireplace as he carelessly tossed his wand aside, pouring himself a healthy measure of firewhisky. Severus stirred the contents of his glass thoughtfully before downing the whiskey in one gulp. He laid down on the couch, starring into the dancing flames as he continued to pour himself drink after drink. Severus laughed to himself disdainfully. “A doe…it had to be a fucking doe.”

More tears streamed down the potion master’s face. _Of course it would be a doe you git…the girl shared a remarkable resemblance to Lily Evans…why not this too?_ Severus pinched the bridge of his nose as he choked back a sob, clenching his fist tightly around his glass. Severus threw his glass of whiskey into the fire, the flames roared angrily as he drank straight from the bottle of firewhisky instead. Tears streamed freely down his face now. “Lily” he breathed softly as he curled into a ball on the couch wracked with renewed sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


	5. Preparations

 

The next couple of months at Hogwarts were busy as Cecily settled into her new school. Cecily was made prefect, as the Malfoy boy knew would happen, and this only added to her responsibilities. It was October and the castle was being heavily decorated for the Harvest Ball the following weekend. Cecily didn’t have dress robes or a costume, so she doubted she would be attending the event. Cecily looked up at the staff table, professor Snape was silently picking at his food, not caring to socialize with the other staff members. Cecily felt her and the professor were a lot alike in this respect. Preferring the quiet solace of thought for lack of intelligent conversation among their peers. The potions master avoided Cecily at all costs since the patronus incident, not even glancing at her. This honestly saddened Cecily, as she still thought of the snarky potions master often. Privately, she hoped the awkwardness between them would dissipate soon. Just then, Malfoy sat beside her heavily, pulling a plate of eggs toward himself. His brutes, Crabbe and Goyle, sat across the table from them.

“Bloody rounds,” He mumbled, pouring himself some pumpkin juice. “Slave labor it is.”

Cecily shrugged, “I don’t mind them…I don’t sleep well anyway.” She remarked as she continued to look at the potions master. Cecily had developed somewhat of a friendship with the Malfoy boy, though she still found it difficult to tolerate Crabbe and Goyle. She turned to see the pair scrabbling dumbly over a sausage link. She shook her head in revulsion, opening her potions book and propping it against a jug of pumpkin juice.

Malfoy smiled his sly fox-grin, “I could help you with that.”

Cecily snorted as she was taking a drink of her pumpkin juice, “Not even if you were the last wizard.” She said, dabbing at her chin with a napkin before returning her nose to her potions book.

Crabbe and Goyle were still wrestling over the sausage as Crabbe’s elbow nudged the jug of pumpkin juice, toppling it over. The juice spilled across the table as Cecily saved her potions book in time just before the juice began to drip onto the floor.

“Must you be such gits?” Cecily seethed at the two boys as they continued their scrabble over the sausage. “Scourgify” she whispered, flicking her wand impatiently as the spilled juice disappeared.

“Crabbe, Goyle…move.” Malfoy ordered, nodding his head toward the end of the table where a fresh tray of sausage links had just appeared.

Crabbe and Goyle practically ran to the end of the table. Cecily rolled her eyes as she returned to eating her toast, scanning her potions textbook. She got the feeling like she was being stared at very intently. She looked up to the staff table hopefully, however, professor Snape was no longer there. Cecily turned around to see where the professor may have gone when she noticed it was actually Malfoy looking at her. “What?” She asked, raising her eyebrow at him slightly.

“Would you like to go to the Harvest Ball with me?”

Cecily’s cheeks reddened slightly. “Oh…um…I didn’t actually plan to go. I mean, I don’t have dress robes or even a costume.”

“I’m sure the headmaster would give you permission to visit Hogsmead.” Malfoy countered, looking hopeful as he sat closer to her, slicking his hair back with his hand as he smiled at her.

Cecily’s cheeks colored further. “Okay…well, I’ll think about it.”

Malfoy’s smile widened as he nodded, “Till then…” and stood up to leave the Great Hall, his goons following close behind him.

Cecily was a bit shell-shocked. She had never been asked to a ball before, even at Wrighten’s, and before today she had never truly been interested in such affairs. Cecily popped the last bit of toast into her mouth as she gathered her books and slung her bag over her shoulder. She left the Great Hall and started up the marble staircase, deciding to visit the headmaster’s office on her way to charms class.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

“I’m sorry Cecily, unless it is a Hogsmead weekend I can’t grant you permission to leave the castle.” Dumbledore said somberly as he adjusted his half-moon glasses on the bridge of his nose. “However, you may speak to your head of house to make arrangements for a fellow staff member to go to Hogsmead for you. Normally the house elves attend to such matters, but they are currently on strike…it seems they are being tricked into picking up clothes around the castle.” Dumbledore’s eyes glittered in amusement.

“So they have stopped working then?” Cecily asked curiously.

At this, Dumbledore chuckled warmly. “Quite the contrary I’m afraid. I have never seen the castle so clean.” He remarked as he slid his finger along the surface of his desk as if to prove his point. “Hm…not a speck of dust to be found.” He chuckled warmly again. “Now, Ms. Yemen. I do believe you’re due in charms if I am correct…and I am rarely ever wrong. Though, it does happen on occasion.”

“Yes Sir.” Cecily smiled, letting the headmaster lead her out of his office. Well…now she had an excuse to talk to professor Snape at least. At this thought Cecily’s smile widened as she made her way to charms class, a slight bounce in her step.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Professor Severus Snape shooed house elves from his empty potions classroom angrily. The little gits had already cleaned the classroom in the night so it was entirely unrecognizable and he had just caught them in the process of hanging Halloween decorations. Severus slammed the door behind the elves, scowling darkly as he set about clearing away the decorations with his wand. He despised holidays and was rather displeased to learn he would be one of the chaperones for the Harvest Ball. It was bad enough that he had to attend, let alone go about breaking up snogging sessions in the castle courtyard during the event. Well, at least it would save him from having to dance with a rather intoxicated Sybil Trelawney like last year. Severus shuddered at the memory, such a vile and frivolous woman.

Severus turned to sit at his desk, scowling as he noticed a rather cheerfully carved pumpkin sitting on the corner of his desk. He took out his wand and sent the pumpkin whizzing across the room and out the window of his classroom. He tucked his wand away into his robes and took a seat behind his desk, intending to grade papers but as usual he became distracted with thoughts of the little witch…Cecily. His cock twitched in his trousers as he recalled the intoxicating, lingering scent of her pleasure on her fingers. Severus closed his eyes as they rolled into the back of his head, his breath hitching. Severus growled as he shook the witch from his mind, forcing himself to return his thoughts to the task at hand. “T’s for all then…” he grumbled to himself, scratching his quill, dipped in red ink, over the parchment of his student’s essays.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Charms class was let out early due to a cheering charm gone horribly wrong. Poor professor Flitwick had to be taken to the hospital wing, doubled over in fits of laughter as tears streamed down his tiny cheeks. Cecily sighed as she made her way down to the dungeons, her legs shaking slightly in nervous anticipation. She had decided now would be the perfect time to speak to her head of house, professor Snape, about a costume for the Harvest Ball. Cecily knocked on the door of the potions classroom.

“Enter…if you must.” Came the slightly muffled voice of the potions master.

Cecily opened the door and walked into the classroom to see the professor sitting behind his desk, busily grading papers and not looking up to see who had just walked in. “Professor…” Cecily said nervously.

The professor’s head snapped up quickly as he narrowed his eyes at the witch. “What do you want Ms. Yemen?” He asked, none too kindly.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you professor, but…”

“Get on with it…” He seethed impatiently.

“I don’t have dress robes or a costume for the Harvest Ball. The headmaster told me to come and see you.” Cecily removed a small, tattered bag of coins from her school bag, gingerly setting it upon the potion master’s desk. “I would like to make a purchase from Hogsmead but am not allowed to go until the next Hogsmead visit…in December.”

Professor Snape raised his eyebrow, starring at Cecily for a long while considerably before returning to grading his papers. “It will be arranged, now go…and close the door behind you.”

“Thank you professor.” Cecily said as she turned and left, smiling. She shut the door to the classroom gently behind her. Once it was closed she silently cheered to herself, jumping and dancing in victory.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus threw down his quill as he leaned back in his seat, fingering the worn ties of the small money pouch. So Cecily intended to be present at the ball. He felt he knew Cecily well enough to ascertain that she wouldn’t even consider attending such a frivolous affair unless she had been asked. _Of course she would be asked you git…she was, after all, an attractive young witch._ The professor sighed as he tucked the bag of coins into his pocket. _Might as well get this over with._ Standing, he removed his cloak from the back of his chair and clasped it securely around his neck as he left the classroom, warding and locking the door behind him. He then made his way up the stairs to the Great Hall. Thankfully it was empty, as students were either in their dormitories or attending evening classes. He turned out of the Great Hall and into the corridor with the marble staircase, leaving through the giant double doors of the castle entrance. As he stepped outside into the crisp autumn air, he noted how clear the evening sky was and the gentle breeze that flipped his hair playfully as he walked along the path to the castle gates, robes billowing behind him. He pushed open the gate and let it swing closed behind him as he apparated to Hogsmead.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus scowled darkly as he looked through the many racks of dress robes lining the robes shop. He received many strange looks as he riffled through the witches’ section. Everyone knew Severus Snape to be a very bitter and lonely wizard so it was curious to see him in the robes shop…let alone browsing the witches’ section. Severus knew they were staring at him and when he caught them he would shoot them his darkest look, sending them on their way as they averted their eyes. Severus scoffed as he made his way toward the costumes section, giving up on the dress robes as a bad job. Most of the dress robes that Cecily could afford were second-hand and outdated. Though the professor would never admit it aloud, he did want the little witch to enjoy her first ball.

  
Severus also had to find a costume for the ball, as it was mandatory that the staff take part in the festivities. Many of the costumes ranged from inappropriately sexy to just plain ridiculous. Severus’ lip quirked in amusement as he considered a giant shrew costume for the witch, but thought better of it as he made his way to the back of the shop. Just then, Severus caught a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye. He turned to find a pair of mannequins displaying costumes that he hadn’t noticed in the shop before.

The male mannequin wore a black Venetian styled mask with elegant silver embellishments and a rather long curved nose. It also wore a simple black velvet cloak that was clasped with a silver fleur de lis, set with emeralds. The female mannequin wore a white Venetian mask with gold embellishments and a red plume of feathers elegantly arranged on one side of the mask. The mannequin also wore a red A-line gown with gold embellishments and a very slight train with long, dagged sleeves that hung off of the shoulders.

Severus checked the price of the female mannequin’s costume…25 galleons. He frowned slightly as he took the witch’s coin purse from his pocket, weighing it in his hand. He knew the witch only had 5 galleons to her name. He crossed his arms, placing a finger to the side of his chin, lost in deep contemplation. He walked around the mannequins, continuing to examine the costumes. “Bugger it all…” he breathed, as he pocketed the witch’s bag of coins and removed both of the costume’s sales tags to take to the service desk. He would purchase them both, as he could afford to do so.

“Would you like them gift wrapped, sweetie?” An annoyingly cheerful witch with a raspy voice asked him as she folded the garments gently, laying the masks on top of them.

“Just the lady’s, if you would be so kind.” He replied tartly, barely moving his lips as he spoke.

The witch smiled at him as she waved her wand, tucking the red gown and mask into a red clothes box lined in gold tissue paper. She then snaked a gold ribbon around the box that glittered with tiny magical lights, fastening it on top of the parcel in a rather large bow with many loops. Severus rolled his eyes in annoyance as he paid and tucked the parcel under his arm, carrying his own costume in a bag dangling from his hand. Passer-by gave him strange looks as he passed groups of vigorously whispering witches. Severus scowled and quickened his pace as he made his way back to the castle… _bloody witch._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


	6. The Harvest Ball

 

Cecily was exhausted as she returned to the Slytherin common room after dinner that evening. She had back-to-back divination with professor Trelawney before dinner. She couldn’t stand how stuffy and warm her classroom was, with sickly sweet smells hanging in the thick air. Cecily threw her bag in the corner by her bedside table. She was glad to have her own rooms now, since becoming a prefect. She turned to flop down onto her bed for the night when she noticed a red parcel bedecked in a sparkling gold ribbon laying in the center of her bed. As she approached her bed, she noticed there was a scroll of parchment attached to the bow. Cecily detached it, unrolling the small scroll carefully. “My treat…” it read in elegant writing. Cecily noted that her money bag was also sitting on the bed beside the parcel. She picked it up and counted the coins inside…none of her money had been spent.

Her eyes widened slightly as she began to gently untie the golden ribbon on the parcel, lifting off the lid of the box. “Oh!” she breathed as she saw the beautiful mask. She picked it up gingerly in her hands as she took it to the mirror to try it on. She placed the mask against her face and as she wondered how she would keep the mask in place it began to magically contort itself to fit her facial structure perfectly. She was thankful that it was a half-mask, leaving the bottom half of her face free. Cecily smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. The mask was absolutely gorgeous and made her feel as such; however, what on earth was she supposed to wear with it? None of her own robes were anywhere near suitable to wear with the mask. Just then, Cecily noticed a glint of gold in the corner of the mirror, the box sitting on the bed wasn’t empty.

She took off the mask and set it on her desk as she approached the box once again. She gasped as she pulled the red and gold gown from its box. She stood frozen for a long moment, stunned by its beauty. She held the gown against her body, making her way to her mirror to take a look. For the first time in her young-adult life, Cecily felt beautiful. She giggled happily as she twirled around, flipping the skirt of the dress with her hand back and forth admiring how the fabric moved. She knew she would have to thank whoever the professor had sent to purchase the costume, for they had made her the belle of the ball. She twirled again happily at this thought, thoughts of sleep having been completely forgotten.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Cecily practically skipped upstairs to breakfast the following morning, thoughts of her costume pre-occupying her mind. The Harvest Ball was tonight and she still hadn’t decided how to wear her hair. Cecily sat beside Malfoy, smiling cheerfully as she bounced in her seat.

Malfoy quirked his eyebrow at her as he propped his head up on his elbow, smiling at her. “Good morning…what has you in such good spirits, I wonder?”

Cecily shrugged her shoulders coyly, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. “Well…I have a costume for the ball.”

Malfoy’s face cracked into a very broad grin. “So tonight is on then?”

She smiled, biting her bottom lip as she nodded, pouring herself some pumpkin juice. “I didn’t even pay for it, I really need to thank whoever was sent to buy it for me. It was just such an amazing gesture.”

Malfoy smiled to himself as he had a very devious thought. “Well…I couldn’t possibly ask you and then have you not go, could I?”

Cecily’s jaw dropped as she over-poured her pumpkin juice. She smiled and set the jug down, shoving Malfoy’s arm. “You? Seriously!?!”

Malfoy waved his hand with a flourish. “Me!”

Cecily hugged him tightly, “Thank you! I love it so much!”

Malfoy wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, it was nothing.” As he smiled his most sly fox-grin yet.

“But how did you do it? I mean, students aren’t allowed to Hogsmead unless it is a Hogsmead weekend.” Cecily asked, pulling away from him slightly to look at him, keeping her hands on his shoulders.

Malfoy shrugged one of his shoulders. “Well, the professor is chummy with my father. It’s never difficult to get things done once father is involved.

Cecily smiled. “No, I suppose not.” She then hugged him tightly again.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus nearly bent his fork as he watched Cecily throw her arms around Malfoy. So…he was taking her to the ball. He knew someone had to be taking her…but Malfoy? He was beneath her and cared nothing for anyone but himself. Severus caught himself…not that he cared…as he regained his composure, picking at his eggs again but not taking his eyes off of Cecily. He nearly scoffed aloud when he watched her throw her arms around him again, practically fawning and gushing over him…the git. Severus sighed as he pulled the napkin from across his lap and wiped his mouth, excusing himself as he left the Great Hall. Severus made his way down to the dungeons to return to his private rooms. There were no classes today due to the Harvest Ball and that alone he was thankful for.

Finally entering his rooms, he poured himself a firewhisky. He sat down in his favorite chair by the fireplace, stirring his drink in his hand. His gaze fell over the mask and cloak he had purchased from the robes shop. They were folded neatly on his coffee table. Perhaps he should have signed the note…then maybe she would have thrown her arms around him instead. Severus snorted at the thought, throwing back his drink… _buck up you pathetic arse._

 

*** * * * * ***

 

News that Cecily would be attending the ball with Draco Malfoy had spread like wild fire around the castle. Cecily received many dark looks from some and few congratulations from others within her own house. It seemed that many Slytherin girls desired to attend the ball with Malfoy. Privately, this made Cecily feel a sort of guilty pleasure that he chose to take her. Cecily came to the empty expanse of stone wall that was the entrance to the Slytherin common room. “Salazar” she whispered. Cecily was waiting for the wall to the Slytherin common room to open when she was caught off guard by a large hand grabbing her forearm and dragging her around the corner into a very small and dark corridor.

She was pushed back forcefully into the cold stone wall as a hard body pressed against her, pinning her there. Cecily squirmed, trying to break free before her eyes met those of the potions master, effectively freezing her in place.

“Professor?” Cecily whispered, gulping as a knot formed in her throat.

Professor Snape said nothing for a long time as he continued to stare at her, his face mere inches from her own. “He’s toying with you, you stupid girl.” He breathed in a hushed whisper.

Cecily could smell alcohol on his breath as she slightly panicked. “And…what exactly are you doing?” She countered as she attempted to slide sideways along the wall to free herself.

Snape growled in irritation as he pushed his knee against the wall between her legs, placing his hands on the wall by either side of her head, forcing her to direct her gaze to him. “I don’t appreciate your cheek.” He whispered, narrowing his eyes at her dangerously as he leaned in closer to her.

Cecily’s breath quickened as she looked away from the professor’s intense gaze. “Professor…please…you’ve been drinking.”

He grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I’ve had three fingers of fire-whisky, hardly enough to inebriate me…witch.” He slid his knee up slightly, coming close to her sex.

Cecily swallowed hard again as she continued to stare into those black eyes. She was all too aware of his knee between her legs and was almost certain she was becoming moist from just the idea of him being so close to her. Her heart pounded in her chest and she was certain he could feel it pounding against his own. “Please…” She managed to breath in barely a whisper.

Snape leaned his face closer to hers, still holding her chin, their lips nearly touching. He moved his knee higher, pressing against her heated sex. Cecily gasped as her hips involuntarily lifted off of the wall in response, further pressing herself against the professor’s leg. Professor Snape took the opportunity to drag his knee back and forth along her sex, pressing against her all the more as he looked into her eyes. Cecily’s mouth parted deliciously as she panted and whimpered softly, her eyes becoming glassy and unfocused.

Snape dragged his lips lightly across the side of Cecily’s neck, pressing his mouth to Cecily’s ear, speaking in barely a whisper, “Mr. Malfoy is not all that he seems…tread lightly.” With excruciating effort professor Snape pulled himself from the witch, taking a couple steps back as he crossed his arms, never taking his gaze from hers. He couldn’t tear his eyes from her, she was so beautiful like this.  
Cecily remained leaning against the wall, panting, her eyes still unfocused and mouth slack. She couldn’t move even if she had wanted to, taking comfort in the chilled surface of the stone wall, relying on it to sooth her heated skin. She swallowed several times but couldn’t seem to form any words.

The professor adjusted the sleeve of his robes, managing to tear his eyes from hers. “In regards to your hair…wear it up. You have a lovely neck.” He purred as he walked away.

Cecily caught a glimpse of the professor’s robes disappearing around the corner as she was left alone. He must of saw into her mind at some point to know she was pondering on how to do her hair. She had been too distracted and vulnerable to pay any attention. Cecily collected herself as she went to prepare herself for the Harvest Ball. It seemed the professor and her were at least on speaking terms again.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

She had taken professor Snape’s suggestion and pulled her red hair up into an elegant French twist styled bun. She had also managed to curl the stubborn stray locks about her neck magically with her wand. Cecily applied her red lipstick with extreme care before finally placing her mask over her face as she looked at herself in the mirror. Cecily couldn’t help but smile, seeing the dress combined with the mask had a truly stunning effect. She snatched up her purse, tucking her wand inside of it, as she stepped out of her rooms and into the common room.

The prefect’s quarters were located on either side of the common room, one under the boys’ dormitories and the other under the girls’. Malfoy occupied the one under the boys’ dormitories. Malfoy had just left his own rooms, looking rather handsome in black dress robes lined in silver. He also wore a long Slytherin-green cloak draped over one shoulder and tied attractively by silver tassels under the arm of his other side.

Cecily smiled as she made her way toward him, “You clean up well.” she said, touching his elbow as he locked the door to his rooms. Malfoy gave her a quizzical look.

“It’s me…” Cecily said in disbelief. Malfoy turned his head slightly, looking even more perplexed.

“Oh for heaven’s sake!” she exclaimed as she pulled the mask from her face. “Honestly, you can’t even recognize the costume you yourself purchased?” she laughed, shoving his shoulder playfully.

Malfoy smiled, “Well, it looks different on you…quite bewitching I might add.” Cecily smiled as she flipped the skirt of her dress shyly, placing the mask over her face again.

“Shall we go then?” Malfoy asked, offering her his arm. She took it, blushing slightly as they made their way out of the common room and to the great hall where the Harvest Ball would be taking place.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

The great hall was spectacular. There were candles and jack-o-lanterns magically suspended in mid-air all along the great hall. Bats flew among them, causing the candle flames to flicker eerily. The house tables were pushed against the walls of the hall, bedecked with food, drink, party-favors, and even more decorations. The platform where the staff table usually sat was occupied by a small orchestra and singers for the event. The castle ghosts inadvertently added to the ambiance as they danced and moved about the great hall. There was a heavy buzz of excitement as the hall continued to fill with students dressed in their best robes and costumes.

Malfoy steered Cecily toward the tables, scooping her up a glass of iced pumpkin juice from a smoking cauldron. Cecily thanked Malfoy as she took a small sip of her pumpkin juice, trying to think of something to say. Cecily watched the smoking cauldron and noted how the smoke tumbled over the side of the cauldron and down from the table to drift over the floor in a thick mist, further adding to the décor.

Just as Malfoy opened his mouth to say something to Cecily, Dumbledore stepped up onto the platform, drawing the attention of the students crowding the hall. The headmaster pointed his wand at his throat before speaking in a magically magnified voice. “Good evening and a very merry Hallows’ Eve!” He chuckled as the students and staff applauded him warmly. “Before we begin, I would like to remind you all that the great hall and the courtyard are both accessible during the ball. However, the corridors are off limits. You are to remain in chaperoned areas or return to your houses. Now…let’s dance!” Dumbledore graciously indicated for the orchestra to start as he removed the spell from his throat.

Malfoy took Cecily’s cup from her and set it down on the table as he bowed slightly and offered her his hand with a flourish. “Shall we dance?” he smiled.

Cecily grinned as she placed her hand in his. “Certainly, I’ve never had the pleasure of dancing with two left feet…perhaps you can show me how it’s done.”

“Oh!” Malfoy breathed, throwing a hand to his chest in mock abashment as he spun Cecily. She giggled as he led her to the dance floor.

Malfoy proved to be a good dancer, even though his movements were rather mechanical. Cecily was enjoying herself immensely until she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle uncomfortably. She knew someone was watching her, she could feel it. As her and Malfoy turned on the dance floor she took the opportunity to look around for the source of her discomfort, but found it impossible to distinguish in such a dense crowd of people.

“Alright, Cecily?” Malfoy asked, having to yell in order to be heard over the music. Cecily nodded, “Just warm!” She exclaimed, fanning herself with her hand. Malfoy nodded and took her by the hand, leading her outside to the courtyard.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus stood in front of the mirror in his chambers, fastening the black velvet cloak of his costume securely under the collar of his shirt. He had decided to wear a black silk shirt and black slacks beneath the cloak. Black, after all, was surely his color. Severus smirked to himself as he pulled the elaborate Vienna mask over his face. He found it amusingly ironic that the mask had such a large nose, as his own nose was subject to an endless stream of jokes and ridicule. He would effectively be hiding in plain sight. He had told the rest of the staff that he would be wearing dress robes for the occasion, not a costume. He wanted to avoid Sybil Trelawney at all costs. Though, privately, he knew the real reason for his anonymity was so that he could keep a special eye on his little witch without drawing suspicion.

Severus could hear the loud buzzing of thousands of people talking and laughing excitedly echoing through the corridors as he left the dungeons and climbed the stairs up to the great hall. He made his way through the dense crowd of staff and students, taking care not to walk through any of the castle ghosts that also occupied the great hall.

It didn’t take long for Severus to spot Cecily. Her arm was entwined with the arm of a very smug looking Draco Malfoy. Severus could hardly blame the little git for being so smug, for the young woman on his arm was an absolute vision…a goddess born to earth. Looking at Cecily on the arm of Malfoy, pranced about like some kind of show pony, caused a jealous rage to swell angrily in the professor’s chest. He felt like hexing the little bastard then and there, however, he knew he would only draw suspicion if he did.

Severus could only watch as Malfoy led Cecily onto the dance floor, scowling darkly behind his mask as Malfoy pulled her close. Severus forced himself to tear his eyes away as he made his way to the food tables.

  
“Good evening, Severus.”

Severus turned on his heel at the sound of the voice to see Dumbledore smiling at him, his eyes twinkling annoyingly. “Good evening, headmaster.” Severus said dryly, turning away from the headmaster. “I would appreciate it if you did not educate the rest of the staff of my appearance.”

Dumbledore chuckled warmly behind him. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, Severus. Secrets, illusions…mystery. They are but wondrous things.” Dumbledore patted the professor on the shoulder as he passed. “Carry on, Severus.” He gave Severus a wink and disappeared into the crowd around them.

Severus stood, bewildered by the headmaster’s annoyingly vague phrases. The man was brilliant…but a bit off. He glanced again in the direction of Cecily. She was still dancing with Malfoy. He had his hands on her hips as she had her arms wrapped about his neck and shoulders, embraced in a slow song. Severus scowled darkly again as he made his way out to the courtyard. Maybe he could find a snogging couple to hex…that would surely make him feel better.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Cecily sighed in relief as she stepped out into the cool, crisp evening air. The great hall had been extremely warm with everyone dancing. Cecily took off her mask so the cool air could sooth her flushed face. She closed her eyes, breathing in the cool air deeply.

“Better?” Malfoy asked, touching the small of her back gently.

“Yes, much better.” She smiled, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm as they walked along the cobbled path of the courtyard. The hedges and rose bushes held millions of glittering fairy lights and many large, carved pumpkins were set here and there along the path. There were also tiny skeletons hanging from the fruit trees that rattled gently as they were swayed by the gentle breeze. They approached a large, cobbled clearing surrounded by tall hedges and glittering rose bushes. There was a tall tree in the middle of the clearing with a bench wrapped around its trunk. Malfoy indicated for Cecily to sit down as he sat beside her on the bench.

She set her mask down on the bench beside her as she looked up at the night sky, sighing contently. “I love it here.”

Malfoy laughed lightly, “What do you mean?”

Cecily shook her head, blushing slightly. “I mean…I didn’t at first. I just wanted to go back to Wrighton’s. Now, I just…really love it here. The crazy staircases, talking portraits, even stupid Peeves…just everything. Wrighton’s made magic feel more like work. Here, it just feels like…well…like magic.”

Malfoy chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind Cecily’s ear, leaning in close to her. “Being here with you feels like magic.” He whispered as he leaned in closer to her, his eyes closed and lips parted slightly.  
Cecily panicked and turned the other way, pretending to cough frantically.

“Are you alright?” Malfoy asked, backing away slightly.

“Yes…just…water!” Cecily choked, continuing to cough.

“Alright, I’ll get you some punch.”

Cecily nodded as she waved for Malfoy to go, stopping her coughing once she was certain that he had gone. She sighed in relief as she leaned her back against the back of the bench. Cecily wanted to kiss Malfoy, but she had never been kissed before and was entirely nervous. Cecily stood and paced, trying to settle her nerves.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus watched from behind a nearby statue, smiling in amusement as Cecily burst into false coughing fits in order to dodge being kissed by Malfoy. He watched as Malfoy ran off and Cecily stood, pacing nervously. He decided if he were going to approach her tonight, now would be the opportune moment. He removed his mask and cloak, laying them neatly across the back of the statue as he slipped quietly through the hedges.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Cecily wrung her hands, trying to decide how she was going to get herself out of this mess when she felt a strong arm snake itself around her torso from behind. Cecily froze, breathing heavily as a face pressed close to the side of hers, lips brushing her ear softly. Cecily knew exactly who was behind her as she swallowed hard. “Professor…” Severus took his other hand and brushed the backs of his fingers lightly down the side of Cecily’s face and neck. “Professor…please.” Cecily closed her eyes and leaned her head slightly away from the professor’s touch, only achieving in giving him better access as he ran the tip of his nose along the same path his fingers had taken down the column of her neck. Cecily placed her hand over the professor’s arm locked firmly around her torso, trying to push it away. “This isn’t right!” She breathed in barely a whisper, leaning her head back against Severus’ shoulder.

“Shhh…” Severus whispered softly into her ear, placing his hand firmly on her hip as a heavy, sensual beat played over the courtyard from the great hall “Just dance.” He whispered as he turned her out from him.  
Cecily spun a couple times as she turned to walk away from him, slightly disoriented. He grabbed her arm and spun her the other way as she was forced to turn and crash into him. Her hands were on his chest and his hands grasped her hips firmly as she looked up into his intense eyes, breathing heavily.

**[(Click Here For Song: Suzanne Vega – Caramel).](https://youtu.be/kD7TZyLeCfk) **

_“It won’t due…to dream of caramel…to think of cinnamon…and long for you”_

He moved around behind her as he forced Cecily’s hips with his hands to move slowly and sensually from side to side with his own. He pressed his face close to hers as he moved one of his hands up her side and slowly down her arm, taking her hand in his as he turned her to face him. He kept his eyes locked onto hers as he moved his other hand up her back slowly…painfully slow. Cecily closed her eyes, shaking slightly as he pulled her close to him. He gently lifted her chin up with his finger. “Open your eyes.” He breathed. Cecily opened her eyes and he immediately locked his gaze with hers, leading her across the cobble stones in what she could only describe as a very simple and sensual tango influenced step.

_“It won’t due…to stir a deep desire…to fan a hidden fire…that can never burn true.”_

Severus never took his eyes from Cecily’s as he danced with her. Though she may have looked remarkably like Lily Evans, Lily had never looked at him the way Cecily was now.

  
_“I know, your name…I know, your skin…I know the way these things begin…”_

Much to the professor’s surprise, Cecily actually smiled…starting to enjoy herself as professor Snape led her effortlessly. She had never been danced with like this before or felt as sexy as she swayed her hips with every step. Her eyes burned with desire as she looked into the eyes of her professor.

_“But I don’t know…how I would live with myself…what I’d forgive of myself…if you don’t go.”_

Severus spun her and pulled her back into his body once more as he placed both of his hands on the small of her back, moving his thumbs back and forth sensually over her hips. Cecily placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. Looking up at him, she realized how tall he truly was, standing a head higher than herself. Severus continued to hold Cecily’s gaze with his own, breaking it only to look at her lips as he leaned his face ever-so slowly down to hers.

_“But I don’t know…how I would live with myself…what I would give of myself…if you don’t go.”_

Cecily’s breath was shallow and hitching as she closed her eyes, feeling the professor’s lips so close to her own. More than anything she wanted to kiss him. She repeatedly begged, in her mind, for him to kiss her. _Kiss me…please…kiss me…_ Just then, there was a noise on the path and professor Snape quickly slipped away before Cecily could stop him.

Malfoy came into view, a glass of pumpkin juice in his hand. “Sorry, there was a line. You look flushed, are you alright?”

Cecily nodded and sat back down on the bench with Malfoy, taking small sips from the juice.

“So…where did we leave off?” Malfoy asked as he took the cup from her hands, setting it on the bench.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus scowled darkly as he made his way back toward the castle, following the twisted paths of the courtyard. He had been so close to kissing Cecily and he knew she had also truly desired it. Her responsiveness toward him and the way she had tilted her head up toward his had indicated such. Severus kicked a loose stone in frustration, watching it skitter away across the cobble stones. That git Malfoy was becoming a rather large thorn in his side. Severus sighed as he put his mask and cloak back on, going about his duties patrolling the courtyard.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Malfoy leaned in close to Cecily, quickly this time, as he pressed his lips firmly against hers. He forcefully shoved his tongue into her mouth and moved his hands over her body. Cecily pushed at his chest, trying to pull away as he continued to force himself on her.

“Draco! Draco stop!” She pleaded. He ignored her as he pushed her back onto the bench, laying on top of her as he moved his hand up between her legs, the other pushing down and pulling at the front of her dress as it ripped. Cecily slapped him hard across the face. “I said…get off of me!” she breathed angrily as tears filled her eyes.

Malfoy scowled and shoved himself up off of her, “A bloody tease is all you are.” He seethed as he adjusted the front of his robes before leaving her alone in the clearing.

It wasn’t until she was certain that he was gone that she sat up, clutching the front of her torn dress to her chest as she sobbed heavily. How could this night have gone so wrong? How could she have been so stupid!?

 

*** * * * * ***

 

“And where, pray tell, are you off to in such a hurry?” Severus asked, gripping Draco Malfoy’s arm. The boy was seething and had scratch marks across his cheek.

Malfoy ripped his arm from Severus’ grasp. “The great hall, Sir!” He announced mockingly.

Severus narrowed his eyes at him before shoving Malfoy away from him. “Be on your way then.”

Severus waited for Malfoy to disappear before he hurried along the path toward the clearing where he knew Cecily and Draco to have been. As he approached the clearing, he heard sobbing. Severus stepped into the clearing to find Cecily with her head bowed low, crying. Severus took off his mask as he sat beside Cecily, lifting her chin gently to look at her. Her hair was a mess and heavy tears continually streamed down her flushed cheeks. That’s when he noticed she clutched the torn front of her dress tightly to her chest and the skirt of her dress was pushed up over her knees.

Severus’ eyes flashed dangerously as his nostrils flared and his breathing became heavy. “I’ll kill the bloody wanker!” He seethed through clenched teeth as he stood, set on beating the bastard to a bloody pulp. Fuck wands.

“NO!” Cecily whimpered as she grabbed his arm. “Please, don’t!” Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she looked up at him pleadingly.

Severus sighed deeply as he sat back down beside her. He knew he couldn’t leave her alone in this condition as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him, rocking her gently as she cried. When Cecily had finally calmed down enough to stop shaking, Severus pulled the skirt of her dress back down over her legs gently. “Move your arms…” He whispered as softly as possible.

Cecily hesitated, but let her arms fall from her chest. Severus shook his head as he pulled out his wand. “Reparo.” He pointed his wand at the front of Cecily’s dress as the torn pieces jumped and weaved themselves back together as if no damage had been done.

“Thank you.” Cecily whispered, avoiding looking at Severus as she looked for her mask. She found it sitting beside an ornate black and silver mask, similar to her own. She shook her head, confused, as she looked up at the professor. “You…you purchased my costume!” It wasn’t a question.

Severus nodded but said nothing as he watched her run her hand over the long nose of his own mask. Cecily shook her head, scoffing in disbelief. “I should of listened to you…I was such an idiot!”

“The Malfoys are all master manipulators, you are not to blame for falling prey to their charms.” Severus said as he removed the velvet cloak from around his shoulders, draping it over Cecily’s instead.

Cecily flinched slightly in surprise as she pulled the cloak tightly around herself. “Thank you professor.” She whispered, starring off at nothing in particular.

They sat in silence for a long time before Snape cleared his throat. “Would you like for me to escort you back to your rooms?”

Cecily shook her head. “He may be there…” she leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. “Just sit with me, please?” she whispered faintly. Severus nodded and sat with Cecily for the remainder of the ball, neither saying a word but both comforted by each other’s presence.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus escorted Cecily through the dark corridors of the castle, making their way to the Slytherin common room. He was carrying both of their masks and Cecily still wore his cloak. It was two in the morning. The ball had ended at midnight; however, Cecily wanted to make certain that Malfoy would be on his rounds at the other side of the castle before returning to the common room. Severus debated on taking Cecily to the hospital wing, but she assured him that Malfoy had not been able to go beyond touching her. He clenched his fists angrily just thinking about the little git’s hands on her. Cecily had begged him not to tell anyone about what had happened, that included going to the headmaster. However, Severus knew he wouldn’t allow Malfoy to get away with what he had done.

Severus stopped in front of the wall to the Slytherin common room, but Cecily kept walking as she turned into the small, dark corridor he had pulled her into before. Severus raised his eyebrow slightly and followed. “Cecily…” he spoke softly as he stepped into the corridor. “I am sure you are aware…but the common room is the other way.”

Cecily nodded, waving her hand impatiently. “I know…I just need to say something.”

Severus opened his arms and bowed his head in invitation for Cecily to speak before folding his hands in front of him, patiently.

Cecily stepped close to him, looking up into his eyes for the first time since Malfoy had harmed her. “Malfoy…he kissed me…it was my first kiss and…” Cecily choked back a sob as she looked away for a moment.

  
Severus gave her time to regain her composure as she cleared her throat and continued. “I always thought it would be special…stupid right? But…honestly…it almost was.” She stepped even closer to Severus as he raised his brow questioningly at her. She whispered softly, “You…if you had kissed me…you would have been my first. I...I wanted you to kiss me.”

Severus sighed softly as he gently cupped Cecily’s face with his hands, brushing one of her tears away with his thumb as he looked into her eyes. “He is not your first Cecily…he tried to steal your first kiss from you. It is impossible to truly take what is not freely given. Your first kiss is still yours to give to whomever you wish.”

Cecily placed her hands over the professor’s. “I want you to kiss me.” She whispered softly. “Please, professor…be my first.”

Severus’ breath caught in his throat as he placed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes in happy disbelief. Her pleas pulled at his heart and he longed to give her everything she asked for and more. “Cecily,” he breathed as he pulled his forehead away from hers, looking into her eyes. “I would be honored to kiss you…but tonight is not the night.” He ran his thumb gently across her bottom lip as he spoke. “When I kiss you, and I say when because someday I surely will, I want you shaking…yes…but only in passion…not fear. I want you to feel bliss and be absolved from sadness. I want you wanting to kiss me to only remember…not to forget. What I want is for your first kiss to be all that you have dreamt of…if not more. Can you understand this?”

Cecily nodded, bowing her head as she leaned into the potions master. He embraced her and held her for a long while until she had the strength to return to the common room. “Oh! Professor…your cloak.” Cecily unclasped the cloak from around her neck but Severus pulled her hands away gently, clasping it again. “My treat…” He whispered as he quirked the corner of his mouth in a small smile. He handed her mask to her, brushing her hand with his own.

“Thank you, professor.” She smiled at him before slipping into the common room.

Severus smiled slightly, bowing his head. “Goodnight, Ms. Cecily.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!
> 
> * This chapter ended up being a bit longer than usual. There was a lot of content I wanted to cover. *


	7. Justice and Discovery

 

Severus’ smile was quickly replaced by a dark scowl as the wall to the Slytherin common room scrapped shut. He turned on his heel and made his way back up to the great hall. He knew the little git was on rounds at the other side of the castle, possibly patrolling the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor. Originally, he had intended to retire for the night. However, Severus knew he wouldn’t be able to rest until he enacted revenge for what Malfoy had done to Cecily. Knowing that he would be alone at night and on patrol was too perfect of an opportunity to pass.

Severus approached the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor, peaking around the corner. He had been right to assume Draco Malfoy would be here on his rounds. Malfoy looked tired and bored as he walked along the corridor, starring at his feet and ruffling his hair. Just having Malfoy in his sights was enough to make his blood boil. Severus pulled out his wand, ready to curse the little bastard when he heard one of the classroom doors open behind him.

Severus pressed his back against the stone wall of the corridor and quickly cast a disillusionment charm over himself. The door continued to creak open slowly as a very intoxicated Sybil Trelawney, the divination professor, stumbled out of the empty classroom, a nearly empty bottle of sherry clutched tightly to her chest. Trelawney began to clumsily make her way toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor, mumbling incoherently to herself.

Severus’ lip curled as he looked from Sybil to Malfoy. He knew just how he would be avenging Cecily; by giving him a taste of his own medicine…so to speak. Remaining disillusioned, Severus raised his wand and pointed it in the direction of Malfoy as he began to cast a string of nonverbal and complicated transfiguration spells. Malfoy’s bleach blonde hair began to slowly lengthen and darken until it was to his shoulders, lank and black. His face also began to change, his nose lengthening and becoming almost hook-like. Where Malfoy had once stood, now stood a nearly prefect replica of Severus Snape.

Professor Trelawney clumsily turned into the corridor just as Severus had finished casting his spell. Trelawney looked up, and seeing the fake Severus, burst into a fit of rather girlish giggles. “Fancy meeting you here…Severus.” Trelawney crooned his name, causing the real Severus Snape to cringe.

Malfoy, on the other hand, gaped at Trelawney as if she had completely lost her mind. “Are you daft? I’m not…” Before Malfoy could say another word, Trelawney had pressed a long bony finger to his lips.

“Shhhshhsh…join me for a night cap Severus?” Trelawney briefly shook the bottle of sherry as she let her finger fall down the fake Snape’s chin to trace down the center of his chest. Malfoy shook his head, backing away from her. She spoke dramatically, waving her arms and sloshing a small amount of sherry onto the stone floor of the corridor. “The universe will not be denied, I have foreseen our bodies intertwined…naked…writhing in the throes of passion!” Trelawney pushed Malfoy back against the wall, trying to kiss him.

The real Severus had to bite his fist to keep from laughing aloud as he watched the scene unfold before him.

Malfoy looked absolutely horrified as he threw his arms over his head to block Trelawney’s advances. “You’re barking!” he whimpered as he managed to break free, running down the corridor in a panic.  
“Severus! Severus, come back here this instant!” Trelawney yelled, trotting off after him.

Severus Snape threw his head back in silent laughter, wiping away tears of mirth that seeped from the corners of his eyes. Justice had indeed been served.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

The sky was still dark in places as the sun peaked in through the frosted dormitory window. Cecily had not slept the rest of the night, Severus’ cloak still wrapped tightly around her. She smiled to herself and pressed the fabric to her nose, breathing in his scent. It was a pleasant smell that made her feel a bit giddy and light-headed. Earthy, with a subtle hind of sandalwood and…is that lavender? She sighed and reluctantly crawled out of bed, changing into some warm clothes. It was still too early for breakfast, which meant that most of the castle would still be asleep. Cecily was thankful for this, as it would give her the opportunity to map out the perfect route for her new class schedule. She snatched up her schedule from the bedside table, looking it over. This term, Cecily would be taking Advanced Herbology in greenhouse 6 as her first class. She would start there and find the quickest route to her next class…Advanced Potion-Making. Cecily was about to throw her wool Hogwarts cloak over her shoulders, when she noticed Severus’ cloak laying on the bed where she had left it to change. Smiling to herself, she let her Hogwarts cloak pool on the floor as she clasped the velvet cloak around her shoulders. The hem of the robe dragged on the ground slightly, but not so much that she would run the risk of tripping on it.

Outside, the sun was just peaking over the trees of the Forbidden Forest, causing the frost-covered grass to sparkle like millions of tiny crusted emeralds. Cecily noticed that even the Gamekeeper had not started his day. Hagrid’s cabin was dark and no smoke was visible from the chimney. None of the Slytherins seemed to care much for Hagrid, but Cecily thought he was rather sweet. When she had made her venture across the lake with the first years, she had shared a boat with Hagrid and he had tried to make her feel less anxious about being new to Hogwarts. She had heard rumors from the other Slytherins about him, but she had never held much stock in rumors.

The grass crunched under Cecily’s feet as she made her way toward the greenhouses. She could see her breath upon the crisp autumn air, creating small clouds that marched before her. Cecily loved this time of year. The smells, the colors, even the way she felt was different. During the fall season, everything seemed to be a bit more magical…at least more-so than usual. Cecily made her way up a gravel path and could finally see the greenhouses ahead. There were seven of them laid out precariously to catch just the right amount of sun during the day. There were two rows. Greenhouses 1, 2, and 3 were in the front row with greenhouses 4, 5, 6, and 7 to the back. There were paths between all of them. To the left, the path broke off to lead into the back entrance of the courtyard.

Cecily found greenhouse 6 easily enough, but was dismayed to find it locked. She had hoped to get a look at some of the plants that she would be working with this term. She was just about to see if she could peak into the fogged windows when she heard a scraping noise coming from greenhouse 7. Cecily grabbed the door handle to greenhouse 7 and gently pulled it open, thankful that the door hinges seemed to be well-oiled. The greenhouse was very large and warm…and not quite like the other greenhouses commonly used by the students. There were no work-stations. Only thousands of plants, including vines of ivy that climbed one of the walls and the ceiling of the greenhouse, casting an emerald light. A small stream flowed through the center of the greenhouse where a slab of stone was laid across to serve as a bridge. As Cecily crossed the bridge, she saw many brilliantly colored fish swimming in the stream, hiding beneath lily pads.

Toward the back of the greenhouse, there were two very long garden boxes that had freshly turned soil in them. The garden boxes, if put together, would be as long as the staff table in the Great Hall. A shovel was thrust into a pile of soil that had not yet been turned. This must have been the source of the noise that Cecily had heard. The back wall of the greenhouse was completely made of brick and had a small gargoyle-head fountain built into it. The gargoyle spewed water from its mouth and into a basin on the floor. Standing beside the fountain was a man washing his hands in the water the gargoyle provided. Cecily quickly ducked behind a small ornamental tree, she wasn’t exactly sure if she was supposed to be in here and she would rather not have her perfect record blemished.

The man was shirtless and his back was to her, his skin covered in a sheen of sweat. The man cupped his hands and splashed water on his face, running his fingers back through his hair. She blushed profusely as she watched the beads of water cascade down his chest and back. The man was thin but built strong with subtle musculature. He turned slightly as he reached for a towel hanging from a hook on the wall beside him. Cecily’s heart jumped into her throat as she realized it was professor Snape. He turned his back to her again as he started to towel his hair. That’s when Cecily noticed that his back had numerous long, white scars across it. He hung the towel back on the hook and pulled on his white linen shirt, buttoning only one of the buttons over his stomach where a thin trail of black hair led from his belly button and disappeared into the front of his pants. “You can come out now Ms. Cecily…” Professor Snape said softly, not even looking to see where she was.

Cecily was shocked back to reality at the sound of her name as she awkwardly came out from behind the tree, blushing even more.

He turned around, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall with his lip slightly curled in amusement. “To what do I owe this pleasure Ms. Cecily?”

  
He always accentuated the “s” sound of her name and it raised bumps on her skin every time. “I’m sorry professor, I just heard a noise and…”

“Thought you’d investigate.” The professor finished, slowly stepping toward her. Cecily swallowed as he stood mere inches from her. He adjusted the fleur de lis clasp of the cloak she wore, smiling slightly as he looked back into her eyes. Small beads of water still trickled down his face and neck from his wet hair. “It’s a bit warm in here for a cloak…wouldn’t you agree?”

Cecily twisted her hands nervously. “Right…well…what exactly _are_ you doing in here?” She asked, pointing at the shovel thrust into the earth.

The professor made a sound of derision. “Professor Sprout is not too keen on sharing her greenhouses for plants and herbs that have not been approved for the education of students. This greenhouse is no longer used and so I have been given permission by the headmaster to use it for my needs…so long as I maintain it myself.”

“Why not use magic? Surely it would be less laborious and time consuming.”

Severus looked at Cecily, crossing his arms and tilting his head in consideration before speaking. “Would this task be impossible without the use of magic?”

“No…” Cecily said shaking her head. “I suppose not”

“No…even muggles manage to grow plants without magic to assist them and there is a reason for that.” Severus picked up a handful of dirt from the pile of soil where he had been digging, taking Cecily’s hand, he gently placed some of it in her palm. “Close your eyes and move the soil around in your hand…what do you feel?”

Cecily sighed a bit impatiently as she closed her eyes, moving the soil in her hand. “What am I supposed to feel?” She asked, keeping her eyes closed.

“Turn off your mind…just feel.” He whispered into her ear.

Cecily jumped slightly, as he was now standing right behind her and she could feel his breath gently against her ear as he spoke. She cleared her throat and her mind, only using her hand to collect information about the soil. After a while, she could finally feel discreet, tingling waves coming from it as it rolled over her skin. She smiled to herself. “What is that?”

“Magic…” He whispered, clasping his hand with hers with the rich soil caught between their palms. “Not all magic involves potions, spells, or wands. Magic is the entire make-up of the world…it is what muggles like to call energy.” The tingling waves in the soil began to grow stronger between their hands as the professor wrapped his arm around Cecily’s waist from behind, pulling her into him. “When we use the magic we possess to manipulate tasks that require a different type of energy, we create a disconnect from the world around us. Do you understand?”

Cecily shook her head slightly, opening her eyes and looking at their hands clasped together. The professor took his hand from Cecily’s. The rich soil had turned to sand, devoid of any nutrients or life. “What...what did you do to it?”

“I tried to manipulate its magic into something else…in doing so, it was destroyed. The Dark Lord has spent his entire life bending the laws of magic to his will. In his rise for power, he has forgotten what it is to be human…he is the prime example of this disconnect. The disconnect only destroys, Cecily. Come…let me show you another example.” He unwrapped his arm from around her and walked over to a table in the corner of the greenhouse.

Cecily let the sand fall from her hand, feeling almost sad for it. She followed the professor to the table laden with various fruit and vegetable plants in trays, waiting to be planted. She smiled slightly. “You’re planting a garden? A muggle garden?”

Severus quirked the corner of his mouth slightly. “It is purely research, I assure you.” He pointed his wand at a small green strawberry, causing it to grow and ripen on its vine. He plucked it and handed it to Cecily. “Taste it.”

Cecily took the strawberry from his hand, taking a cautious bite as she looked at him. She chewed and made a sour face, quickly spitting it out into a small bucket that the professor held out to her. “That’s foul!” She sputtered.

“That is what happens when two different entities of magic conflict for a single space. The magic we produce is entirely different from the magic it takes to grow this piece of fruit.” He took another strawberry from the vine that had already ripened. “This is a strawberry that has grown with the influence of the sun, water, and soil…as a muggle would grow it.” He offered her the strawberry. “Now taste.”

Cecily again took a bite of the strawberry, allowing the professor to hold it for her. This time it was pleasant, as a strawberry should be. “It’s very good.” She chuckled as she lifted her hand to cover her mouth while she chewed, she could feel a bit of juice leak from the corner of her mouth.

Severus watched her as he popped the rest of the strawberry into his own mouth, not taking his eyes from hers as he also chewed. He thought about kissing her then, with the taste of strawberries on their lips but the door to the greenhouse opened again as Professor Sprout came waddling in. Severus quickly turned and finished buttoning his shirt as he made himself busy moving some of the plants from the table and setting them beside one of the garden boxes. Cecily followed suit, wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand before pretending to rearrange some of the garden tools on the wall.

“Good morning Severus, and you Cecily!” Professor Sprout called cheerfully as she crossed the small bridge over the stream. “It’s a rare thing to see students up and about this early…and on a weekend too. I must say, it’s a rather refreshing sight.” She smiled as she rubbed and patted Cecily’s arm in encouragement.

Cecily smiled politely back at her as she continued arranging the tools.

“Good morning Pomona, what may I do for you?” Severus asked, kneeling down next to a long garden box.

Professor Sprout produced a bag from the inside of her robes, handing it to Severus. “I found some more muggle seeds stored in my office. Magical plants are my specialty. I’m afraid I’m not much use when it comes to understanding muggle herbology.”

  
Severus took the bag from professor Sprout, pouring a small handful of the seeds into the palm of his hand and inspecting them. They looked like poppy seeds to Cecily, very small and black. “These are tropical seeds Pomona, dragon fruit if I’m not mistaken.”

  
“Muggles…” She exclaimed, shaking her head. “Naming a fruit after a creature they refuse to believe in. HA!” She chuckled to herself as she patted Severus on the shoulder. “Well do with them what you will dear, I have no use for them. I best be off.” She gave Cecily another pat on her arm. “It was lovely seeing you dear.” She winked at Cecily on her way out, shutting the door behind her.

Severus placed the seeds back inside of the bag. He stood beside Cecily, letting the seeds drop onto the table. Both were quiet for a long moment, neither looking at the other. Cecily continued arranging the tools in order to keep her hands busy. Finally, Cecily sighed as she turned to face professor Snape. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

Severus crossed his arms and leaned backward against the table, crossing one foot over the other. He arched one of his aristocratic brows slightly as he considered her. “Go on…”

“When I cast my patronus…you seemed to have a very strong reaction to it.” Cecily watched his face for any sort of reaction, but he kept his features remarkably blank. “Can you tell me why?”

Severus looked away from Cecily, clearing his throat uncomfortably.

“You can tell me…” Cecily touched him gently on his forearm, looking at him expectantly with those eyes of hers.

He kept his eyes averted, knowing all too well that if he looked into her eyes in that moment…he would hold nothing back. “Not today…” He took her hand gently from his arm, brushing his thumb across the back of it before leaving the greenhouse.

When he was gone, she sighed and slammed a trowel down onto its hook on the wall. “Stupid!” She breathed, leaving the greenhouse as well. She took the path through the courtyard to the Great Hall, giving professor Snape his space as he went in the opposite direction.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus returned to his chambers, going about casting privacy wards on his rooms before sitting in his chair in front of the empty fireplace. He leaned his head back and covered his face with his hands, groaning inwardly. He knew that eventually she would ask him about the patronus incident. If she did not have the answers…she sought them out. Her inquisitive nature was one of the very reasons she was such a bright and brilliant student. He sighed and reached under his chair, pulling out a bottle of firewhisky and a glass. He poured himself a healthy measure and drained the glass in a single swallow. He wanted to tell her, but how fair would it be to burden her with such a heavy tale. He was already doing enough harm…as it were.

Severus growled in frustration, standing up and slamming the empty glass and bottle of firewhisky onto the table beside his chair. He paced back and forth in front of the fireplace with his hands on his hips, lost in thought.

Nearly an hour later, Severus finally stopped pacing and sighed deeply in defeat. Whatever the solution it wasn’t going to become any clearer this way. He made his way to his bedroom at the back of his chambers, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. It was the weekend and still quite early in the day. However, he was already weary and could do with a good rest. He finished undressing and crawled in to bed, drifting off into a rather restless sleep.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

After breakfast, Cecily returned to her prefect quarters in the Slytherin common room. She flopped down onto her bed, sighing as she looked up at the ceiling. She couldn’t understand why her patronus would cause anyone to react the way professor Snape had. He was such a secretive man…and so infuriating at times. She shook her head, trying to physically shake the professor from her mind but it was no use. She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

He backed her against the wall of the corridor roughly, pinning her arms above her head as he moved his face in close to her own. She turned her head to the side, panting and struggling against him.

He pressed his lips to her ear whispering darkly in a voice that echoed strangely around her. “Look at me.”

She refused, keeping her head turned and closing her eyes tightly. He adjusted his hold on her wrists, clasping both of them with one large hand. He wrapped his free hand under her chin, turning her to face him. Her breath quickened and her eyes fluttered open to look into his own dark black eyes, heated with desire. He could see that her own eyes were glazed over and half-lidded with that same desire, his lips slightly parted and her face flushed from the inner heat she felt for him…and yet still she struggled. He stepped into her, pressing his hips against her own to keep her still.

She moaned softly, rolling her hips forward in reaction, pleasure etched on her face. “Please…” She breathed in barely a whisper.

He growled low in his throat as he watched her face change and felt her respond to him. He kicked her feet apart, grinding his hips slowly but firmly against her own. She leaned her head back and moaned aloud, arching her back off of the wall behind her.  
He ran his lips over her exposed neck, chuckling softly in her ear. “Is this what you want?” He asked, teasingly.

She whimpered softly but made no reply, every fiber of her being focused on the delicious friction between them.

He jerked his hips against her roughly, causing her to gasp sharply, her mouth gaping. He pulled his hips away from hers as she whimpered. She tried arching her hips to maintain the contact but he kept his hips just out of her reach. “I asked you a question, witch.”

She groaned in frustration, her breathing becoming all the more erratic. “More…” She finally breathed. “Please…need more.”

He let go of her wrists and removed his other hand from under her chin. He moved his hands up her skirt, pulling down her knickers. To his great pleasure, and her embarrassment, he found that they were soaked through. He arched his brow at her, bringing them to his nose and inhaling the scent of her. She was stunned, her face turning a lovely shade of crimson. He closed his eyes briefly as he let the undergarment slip from his fingers and fall to the floor, placing a hand on the wall beside her to support himself. When he opened his eyes, they were entirely corrupted by lust. She flattened herself against the wall, slightly taken aback by the look he gave her.

He chuckled in amusement. “Relax…” He breathed in a hushed whisper as he slowly moved his hands over her body, teasingly using only his fingertips. His breathing labored and heavy with his own arousal. He moved one of his hands to the small of her back, pulling her toward him. He dragged his other hand slowly up the inside of her thigh.

She tried to close her legs but found his knee between them, keeping her from doing just that. She felt his fingertips gently brush across her sex, causing a small gasp to escape her lips as she shivered in anticipation.

He watched how her face changed under his touch. How her mouth opened deliciously, her eyes lost focus, and her face became slightly flushed…she was beautiful. With his index finger, he traced the line of her slit before gently parting the lips of her sex. His lip quirked in amusement as he dipped his finger into her slit to find it flooded with her arousal. He moved his finger to circle slowly around her clitoris, his lips parting slightly as he exhaled in response to her mouth gaping again in pleasure.

She leaned her head back and ground her hips against his hand, whimpering and moaning in abandon. She couldn’t remember when anything had felt so good to her. His hands were so sure in their movements, not clumsy like her own when she tried to pleasure herself. She felt him take his finger away from her clit, she whimpered and opened her eyes to look at him. He was looking at her face lustfully. She was about to ask him why he had stopped when she suddenly felt a long and deliciously thick finger push deep inside of her. She couldn’t contain the sound she made then as her walls clenched greedily around his digit. As he slowly dragged his finger back out of her she had the sensation she was falling as her surroundings slowly dissolved away from around her.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Cecily woke with a start, gasping and covered in a sheen of cold sweat. Her entire body ached and her thighs were slick with her arousal. She had never had a dream so vivid…not to mention arousing. She groaned and clutched her head, it was pounding terribly. She covered her face and allowed herself to lay back down. If she had desired the professor before, it was nothing compared to now. _Now…how could she face him now!?_

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Severus rolled and fell off the side of his bed. He woke, startled, as he hit the floor breathing heavily. His head throbbed terribly and his body was in quite a great deal of pain, but he was certain that was not from falling out of bed. He also felt a different sort of throbbing. He looked down and noticed that he was indeed aroused…terribly. He laid there for a long while, trying to understand what had happened…and then it occurred to him. He had used legilimency in his sleep, projecting his own thoughts and emotions into both of their subconscious…though he was pretty certain that Cecily did a bit of her own projecting as well. When he fell out of bed and woke it had torn the connection from both of them instead of being properly uncast…hence the pain. He clutched at his head, growling as he got up. He clumsily made his way across his room to the thin cabinet that held his personal potions. He opened it and searched through the many vials and bottles, procuring a small tear-shaped flask with a bluish liquid inside. Severus uncorked the flask and took a small sip of the potion, and sighed as his head and body instantly began to feel some relief. However, his cock still stood stubbornly. Severus placed the flask back inside the cabinet and adjusted himself before going back to his bed, trying to ignore the persistent throbbing of his arousal. _Bloody little witch…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


	8. Onto the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ABOUT THE ART: Yes, I am aware that patronuses is spelled incorrectly on the cover of the book. :P This was an intentional error to make the image more interesting.

Cecily flinched as the light from outside pierced through her windowpanes, waking her from her dreamless sleep. The sun was nearly setting, painting the blue sky with shades of pink and crimson. Though the Slytherin house was located under the Black Lake, Cecily requested that her window be enchanted to reflect the outside, over the Forbidden Forest…a request that she was now regretting. Her body still ached slightly when she moved. However, the headache she had earlier was all but a bad memory now. Cecily rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up out of bed to dress. She then rolled up the parchment that contained her nearly-finished assignments and picked up a couple books from her desk, sliding them carefully into her satchel. Her quills, she knew, were already in her bag. She took one final look around her dormitory to ensure that she wasn’t forgetting anything before finally slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder and leaving her rooms, locking the door behind her. By this time, most of the castle would be either finishing their supper in the Great Hall, or in the common room of their dormitories studying. Otherwise, they would be spending time with their friends before bed. The sixth and seventh year students, however, still had an hour left to roam the castle before they were required to return to their houses.

As a prefect, Cecily had rounds until the wee hours of the morning and could roam the castle to her heart’s content. She had to admit to herself that being a prefect did have its perks. She used her freedom wisely. Taking advantage of the empty library late at night. It was, after all, the secret to her success. She was already a week ahead in all of her classes, which was a trend that she full-well intended to continue. Tonight, however, she thought she would research more about patronuses. She had done a ridiculous amount of research already, but had yet to find any clue as to why Professor Snape had reacted so strongly to her patronus. Her research had been slowed considerably during the day due to the librarian, Madam Pince, watching Cecily’s every move and ushering her out of the restricted section. Cecily didn’t want to ask her professors for written permission, for fear of the snarky potions master finding out what she was up to. Cecily found that at night, there was no Madam Pince with her vulture-like hands lurking about to swoop down and snatch books from the restricted section out of Cecily’s grasp. She smiled to herself slightly at the thought. Madam Pince did seem to share a striking resemblance to a vulture.

There were still a few sixth and seventh years roaming the library by the time Cecily arrived. Most of the students here were alone, studying and working on assignments. However, there were also a couple of groups huddled together. One of the groups she recognized as the Famous Witches and Wizards Cards trading club. They were sitting together at a table at the center of the library with their collection strewn across its surface, quietly offering their cards for others. The other group was a gaggle of rather annoying girls standing in the potion's section, giggling over a potions book dedicated to crafting love potions. Cecily scoffed to herself in annoyance and walked to the back of the library, taking her usual seat on the floor between two rows of bookshelves that were closest to the restricted section. This was her favorite place to study, as it was the most quiet and less populated portion of the library.

Cecily scanned the shelf next to her, taking a thick tome from the bottom shelf entitled: _Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes_ by E. Limus. She didn’t expect to find much here. She had already read _Expecto Your Perfect Patronum: A Guide to Casting the Perfect Patronus_ , _Your Patronus and You_ , and _Patronus Forms and Their Meanings_. None of these volumes had managed to further her education of patronuses. _Patronus Forms and Their Meanings_ had only managed to irritate Cecily, in that there was no factual basis to it at all. It seemed to be a volume intended to entertain the dull minds of young witches. Much like the group giggling over the idea of making a love potion. In desperation, she had even checked _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ , which was known to be a first year Defense Against the Dark Arts book for Hogwarts students. As Cecily scanned the index of _Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes_ , she noticed someone peaking around the corner of the bookshelf. She tried to catch a glance of them, however, when she looked up from her book or turned a page quickly they would duck out of sight, only to return moments later. She ignored it for now, focusing her attention instead on her research.

After a while, Cecily checked her watch, noting that sixth and seventh year students were due back in their dormitories soon. She carefully placed the book back onto its shelf and started to pack her own books and scrolls of parchment into her bag. She would have to monitor the halls and start directing students to their houses. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked to the end of the aisle, turning sharply around the corner of the bookshelf.

“Oof!” She heard as she crashed hard into someone that was standing there.

Cecily stumbled backward slightly, catching her balance. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t…” When Cecily looked up and caught a glimpse of who it was, she started to feel less guilty about bumping into them and instead felt more annoyed. For that someone was Harry Potter. She had nearly forgotten that someone had been peaking around the bookcase the entire time she had been reading.

“Err…you alright?” He asked awkwardly, picking up her bag by the strap and offering it to her.

Cecily snatched her bag from him and slung it back over her shoulder, crossing her arms. “Why were you watching me? What is your problem? Ever since I’ve started at this school you’ve been gawking at me! It’s rude!” She whispered fiercely. “Then you nearly send us to the hospital wing!”

Harry looked startled but he quickly recovered, “Hey, you’re the one that ran into me!” He whispered back.

“I wouldn’t of if you hadn’t been gawking at me!” She exclaimed, putting emphasis on the word gawking and slightly raising her voice.

They both heard a harsh “Shh!” as they swung their heads in the direction of the sound, they saw Madam Pince standing at the end of the aisle with her bony finger to her lips. They both whispered apologetically to her, not resuming their conversation with one another until she was well out of ear-shot.

“I wasn’t gawking at you, at least…I’m not meaning to. It’s just…well…It’s just that…” Harry sighed, running a hand through his messy hair, causing it to look even more disheveled. “Would you…no. Could I just show you something?” He asked, tripping a bit on his words nervously.

Cecily narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “Why?”

“I can’t explain…but I promise that it will make complete sense when you actually see it for yourself.”

Cecily sighed and gestured for him to lead the way.

“Great!” He exclaimed, smiling slightly.

“SHHH!” Madam Pince practically spit like a cat with the sheer force of her hushing them.

 

*** * * * * ***

 

Harry Potter led Cecily from the library and through a series of corridors and passageways to the trophy room—of all places. What could she possibly need to see here that would be of any interest to her? Cecily closed the heavy wooden door behind them as she looked around at the cases filled with shining trophies and awards. Many of the cases also held photos that moved in their frames. Hundreds of thousands of proud, smiling faces.

“What exactly are we doing here?” She asked, nervously picking at the sleeve of her robe where the loose thread used to be.

“You’ll see.” Harry replied, walking toward the end of the room, finally pointing at something in the cabinet before him. “Here it is, come and see.”

Cecily did as she was bid and walked toward Harry and the cabinet, lining her sight to where he was pointing. It was an old photograph of eight Hogwarts students that looked rather pleased with themselves, smiling and waving. The cabinet was filled with many that were just like it. “What am I looking at?” She asked, scanning the photo.

“These are all photographs of prefects from different years at Hogwarts. See up here, this one is from this year.” He said, pointing at a photograph on the top shelf. Cecily looked where he was pointing and noted herself standing next to a smiling Malfoy, his arm draped around her shoulders. It was a happier time, when she actually considered him to be her friend. Harry’s voice interrupted her thoughts as he pointed back down to the photo that he originally wanted her to see. “Now, look here at the students in the back row.”

Cecily scanned the back row of students in the photo and was puzzled to see herself standing among the students, especially since the photo was dated 1976. “That’s…”

“My mother…” Harry finished, not taking his eyes from the photo.

“Oh…Harry, I’m so…I’m so sorry.” Cecily said softly. She didn’t know what to say as she gave Harry a sad look before looking back at the photo again. “I heard what happened…well, the entire wizarding world has heard…obviously. It must be awful for you.”

Harry nodded slowly. “I know what it’s like to be gawked at. I didn’t mean to do that to you.”

Cecily laughed, “Don’t worry about it! It must be a relief to have the roles reversed for once.”

He chuckled, kicking away a piece of crumbled stone. “Yeah, it is.”

They both exchanged a kindred smile before returning their gaze back to the photograph. Just then, Cecily noticed another student in the photograph that looked familiar. “Is that…? No! Is that Professor Snape?” She asked, pointing.

“Yeah, he went to school with my parents. But…I don’t think they got on. At least, him and my father didn’t.” Harry said, trailing off slightly.

Cecily was too focused on the photo to say much. Young Professor Snape was taller than the others and still had lank, black hair. He wore it longer then so that it hung a couple inches below his shoulders. He was rather skinny with sallow skin. Though he was only 16 in the photograph, he looked older. He also wore second-hand robes that were practically tattered compared to Cecily’s own second-hand robes. He was the only one in the photograph that did not smile or look at the camera. Though his expression was sad, his eyes seemed to practically gleam off of the page. Cecily followed his line of sight to the witch standing beside him…the young Lily Evans…Harry Potter’s mother. Cecily looked back and forth between her own photo and the photo of Lily Evans again. There was no denying the similarity. There was also no denying that look in the potion master’s eyes.

“I’m sorry Harry, I have to go. Thank you for showing me this.” Cecily squeezed Harry’s arm gently as she walked past him, making her way to the dungeons.

Thoughts of monitoring the halls for students had long since been erased from her mind. How could she focus on anything with the thousands of thoughts that were bouncing around in her head now? Harry was right. Things did make a lot more sense…and not just about Harry gawking at her, but the special interest that her professor seemed to take in her. She had developed real and deep feelings for her professor so quickly. Now, she called everything into question. Including his feelings for her…if he really had any. Cecily scoffed in frustration as she felt tears threaten to fall from her eyes. She shook them away and just as she was about to descend the stairs to the dungeons, she was caught by the upper arm and spun roughly around to face Draco Malfoy.

“Well, well, well…looks like Yemen’s got herself a boyfriend. A nasty Gryffindor at that. As if that weren’t enough, the famous Harry Potter!”

“Let me go, Malfoy!” Cecily urged, trying to twist her arm free from his grip. He only squeezed harder, pushing her backward into the wall of the corridor.

“No…I don’t think I will. Not until we figure out how to wash the stink of Gryffindor off of you. How about a swim in the Black Lake? The cold water will clear your head if nothing else.” Malfoy pulled her toward the entrance hall, heading for the giant doors that opened to the grounds of Hogwarts, dragging her behind him.

“No! Malfoy!” Cecily yelled, still fighting against his grip on her arm. “Let. Me. Go!”

“Mr. Malfoy…” A voice echoed softly behind them.

Malfoy spun around, turning Cecily with him, to see Professor Snape walking down the marble stairs toward them.

“Is there a problem here?” Severus asked, walking up beside Draco and looking between his face and his hand grasping Cecily’s upper arm tightly. His voice was calm and his features remained blank, devoid of emotion. However, there was no way to hide the rage in his eyes as he looked at Malfoy, waiting for an explanation.

Draco scoffed and let go of Cecily’s arm. He smiled scornfully. “No professor, just a bit of a lover’s spat.”

Severus raised his eyebrow, lifting his chin slightly at him as well. “Then perhaps you should go to your chambers and cool off, before I give you detention...with Trelawney.” He said pointedly.

Malfoy’s eyes widened briefly in realization before he smirked and scoffed, clenching his jaw disdainfully. “Yes, Sir.”

Severus then turned to Cecily, indicating to her that she should follow. “With me, Ms. Yemen.”

Cecily gave Malfoy a disdainful look as she passed him and followed Severus out of the entrance hall and down the steps to the dungeons. “I could have handled it myself without you butting in.” She whispered to him in annoyance.

“Undoubtedly…” He purred, his lip curling slightly.

Cecily couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Cecily stopped before the wall to the Slytherin common room, but Professor Snape continued walking, again indicating for her to follow. She sighed to herself, following the professor to his office.

Severus held the door open for Cecily to walk inside before pulling the door closed behind him, placing his usual wards.

“Professor…” Cecily said as he turned away from the door.

Severus shook his head, placing his hand on her shoulder gently as he looked into her eyes. “When we are alone, please…call me Severus, Cecily.” He then indicated for her to sit.

Cecily blushed as she sat on the edge of his desk and fidgeted nervously with the sleeve of her robe again. “Severus…” she said pointedly, smiling to herself a bit. She found she enjoyed saying his name…his true name.

Severus nodded and turned his back to her as he went to a cabinet filled with potions and vials. He smiled to himself, enjoying the sound of his name from her lips.

“Severus…” Cecily said again. “I have so many questions I need to ask you and I need for you to answer them…it’s important. You can’t walk away or…or just shut me down again.”

Severus turned around from the cabinet, holding a small tear-shaped flask containing a blue liquid in his hand. He stood in front of Cecily and set the vial on the desk beside her, looking into her eyes. “Roll up your sleeve.” He said softly, his face close to hers.

“Roll up my sleeve?” She asked questioningly, looking between his eyes and his lips. Perfectly aware of how close he was standing to her.

“I need to see where Malfoy had grabbed you.” Severus said gently.

This slightly sobered Cecily as she shook her head. “It’s fine, no need to make a fuss.”

Severus rested his hands on the desk, on either side of Cecily, bringing her gaze back to his own. “You can either let me look at it or I take you to the hospital wing and let Madam Pomfrey have a look.”

Cecily sighed in annoyance and rolled up the sleeve of her robe. To her surprise, Malfoy had managed to leave a rather nasty looking bruise around her upper arm. She heard Severus take in a deep breath to calm himself. She knew that he was angry and protective of her. But was that enough...?

Severus poured a small measure of the blue liquid into a glass and handed it to Cecily. “Drink this, for the pain.”

Cecily did as she was told. The liquid tasted like the most pristine water Cecily had ever drank. For a moment, it felt as if an icy stream was running through her body and then it was gone. Severus had his wand out and was muttering to himself silently and moving the tip of his wand up and down her arm, the bruise disappearing as he did. When he had finished, he examined her arm once more and then set about putting away the potion and glass.

“Severus…” Cecily said softly.

Severus sat in the chair where visitors would usually sit in front of his desk. He propped his elbow up on the arm of the chair and rested his chin on his thumb with his index finger resting against the side of his face and his middle finger resting against his lip slightly. He looked at her for a long time before finally saying softly, “Ask me anything you wish.”

Cecily didn’t know where to start…she thought about leading with the patronus question again, but she didn’t want to risk him fleeing again. “I saw this photo in the trophy room of you and…and Harry Potter’s mother. She, well…she looked remarkably like me. I’m just…can you explain? Because I feel like I’m crazy thinking there was something between you and Lily Evans and that is why you like me or… that it just sounds crazy enough that I’m spot on.” Cecily was flustered and spoke quickly, afraid how he may react to her question.

“No…” Severus said simply. He stood from his seat and went to the cabinet behind his desk, using his wand to unlock it.

Cecily slouched her shoulders, slightly deflated by his response. She stood up and turned around to look at him rummaging through the cabinet.

Severus could practically feel her doubts and reservations, he didn’t need to use legilimency for that. He sighed to himself as he pulled the object from the cabinet. He knew this was the only way she would even have a chance to understand.

When Severus turned around, he was holding a shallow stone basin in his hands. “…but I can show you.” He said, placing the basin on his desk as he looked at Cecily with all sincerity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


	9. A Penny For Your Pensive (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ABOUT THE ART: I just wanted to draw a simple stone pensive for this chapter.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if we used legilimency?” Cecily asked, glancing nervously at the shallow, stone basin. She had read all about them, naturally. However, she had never actually used one before.

Severus withdrew his wand, twisting it in his hands subtly as he took a moment to consider Cecily’s question. “The memories you are about to see are far too complex for legilimency. By using the pensive, we will be merely spectators to the events that take place. With legilimency, you would think and feel all that I had…as if they were your own memories. For your sake, I would rather this not be the case. I have few fond memories…this route is the safest option.” Severus placed the tip of his wand to his temple and extracted a long, delicate strand of memory. He did this several times, letting the silvery strands break free from the tip of his wand to fall as light as feathers into the pensive. When Severus had finished, he prodded the surface with his wand. The contents of the pensive slowly began to twist and churn until they had a bird’s-eye view of a small park playground far below.

Severus offered Cecily his hand. “Together then?”

Cecily swallowed, nodding as she placed her hand delicately into his.

Severus held her hand firmly in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze before plunging their clasped hands into the surface of the pensive. Immediately, they were both sucked in.

Cecily had the strangest sensation of tumbling head-over-feet before the ground came up sharply to meet her. She stumbled slightly, putting her hand against the rough bark of a nearby tree to catch her balance. “Where are we?” She asked, looking around her curiously. There was a gentle breeze that playfully flipped their hair and robes. It was summer and the air held the sweet, tantalizing smell of flowers. She looked to Severus, who was watching the park entrance intently, his face stock-still. Light strands of his hair danced across his face delicately in the breeze, making him all the more handsome to Cecily.

Just as Cecily was about to ask Severus what they were waiting for, two small girls raced one another through the park entrance and toward the swing-sets, shrieking with gleeful giggles. One girl had blonde hair that was drawn up into two perfect pig-tails.

The other girl’s hair was red and wild, flowing in loose curls down her back.

The blonde-haired girl reached the swings first, turning to smile at her sister. “HA! Lily, I beat you!” She exclaimed, in a rather bossy tone.

The little red-haired girl just shrugged, taking a seat in the swing next to her sister’s.

“Lily…as in Lily Evans?” Cecily asked, looking at Severus.

Severus nodded, not looking at Cecily as he continued to watch the two girls.

“But…I don’t understand…I thought this was your memory?”

Severus’ lip curled slightly in amusement as he looked at Cecily briefly before nodding his head toward a clump of bushes under a great oak tree. “Look there.”

Cecily did as she was told, shading her eyes from the sun as she looked. She gasped softly, finally seeing a small boy kneeling between the bushes, watching the two girls just as intently as the Severus she knew was now. He could be no older than nine, though he did look rather neglected with ragged, dirty clothes that were obviously not meant for the summer months. The coat he wore must have been black at one point, though it looked grey now. At first, she couldn’t understand why he would wear a coat in this weather, then she noticed the shirt he wore had a tear in the neck-line. It was possible the shirt had more damage to it that the coat hid. The knees of his trousers had also worn away, leaving holes large enough for his hands to fit in. The shoes that he wore also seemed to be a couple sizes too large for him. Cecily sighed sadly, looking at the Severus she knew now before returning her attention back to the girls playing together on the swings.

“Watch me, Petunia!” The young Lily Evans squealed in delight as she swung higher and higher.

“Be careful, Lily!” Petunia urged, swinging much lower than her sister.

Just as Lily’s swing reached its highest point, Lily jumped from the swing and glided gracefully down onto the ground, unscathed.

Petunia dug her heels into the wood-chips, stopping her swing abruptly. Her mouth was open wide in shock. “I’m telling mum, Lily! You’re not supposed to do…to do…THAT!”

Lily giggled, picking a budding flower from the ground. “It’s harmless and fun! See…just watch what I can do!” Lily held the flower out to her sister, in the palm of her hand. Suddenly, the pedals began to slowly open and close as if on their own.

“Stop it!” Petunia screamed, smacking the flower out of Lily’s hand and standing as she pointed an accusing finger at her sister. “You’re a freak!”

Lily looked close to tears as she shook her head at her sister. She made to reply but was cut off.

“No she’s not!” A soft voice called out. Young Severus emerged from the bushes, dusting off the torn knees of his trousers bashfully as he approached the two sisters. “She’s a witch.”

Petunia wrinkled her nose at his appearance, looking at him from head to toe.

“That’s not a very nice thing to call someone…” Lily said, placing her hands on her hips.

Severus laughed nervously, waving his hands. “No…I mean really…you have magic!”

Lily tilted her head slightly sideways and looked at Severus, then at the flower now laying half-open on the ground.

The Severus that Cecily knew waved his hand and the scene around them dissolved to be replaced by another. They were now standing on a hill in a meadow of tall grass and flowers, watching a slightly older Lily and Severus chase one another below in a game of tag. If Cecily had to guess, she would say that they had just finished their first year of Hogwarts. It looked like Lily was winning the game, dodging from Severus’ outstretched hand when he was almost close enough to touch her.

“You’ve got to be faster than that if you want to catch me, Sev!” She called behind her, giggling as she continued to run.

Severus staggered as his hand missed her again. “Are you using bloody magic again, Lily? You run so fast!” He stopped and put his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

Lily giggled and sat down in the grass, smiling at him. “Are you accusing me of cheating?”

“Well, are you?” He asked, turning his head to look at her.

Lily gave a guilty smile. “Maybe just a teeny-tiny, little bit.” She said, holding up her hand and putting her index finger and thumb close together in indication.

Severus scoffed and picked up a handful of grass, chucking it at her.

“No!” Lily shrieked in laughter, throwing her arms over her head in an attempt to block the grass.

Cecily turned her head to look at the Severus she knew. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. The corner of his mouth was curled upward in a gentle smile and his eyes held a deep longing as he watched his former self carelessly playing with the girl below. Cecily placed her hand on Severus’ arm briefly, before returning her gaze to the children as well. She knew that seeing these memories again were likely to be bitter-sweet for him…if not entirely painful.

The younger Severus was now laying in the grass beside Lily, breathing heavily as he continued to catch his breath.

Lily was sitting-up beside him, smiling at him. “I can’t wait to go back to school!” She sighed happily, laying down beside him and looking up at the sky. “The holiday came too soon…”

“I like the holiday!” Severus said. “We don’t get to see each other very often at Hogwarts, now do we?”

“Because you had to go and get yourself sorted into stinky Slytherin!” Lily giggled, shoving Severus gently.

Severus laughed and nudged her with his arm lightly. “Well you got sorted into Gryffindor! With that dunderhead James Potter and his friends.”

“They are rather awful, aren’t they?” She laughed, rolling over onto her side and looking at Severus. “Sev?”

Severus blushed slightly and smiled as she said his name. “Yes?” He asked, continuing to look at the sky.

“Will you stay my friend…?” She asked, as she looked at him pleadingly. “Even if I am a Gryffindor?”

Severus turned to look into her eyes…her beautiful green eyes. “Always.”

“Good!” Lily smiled and rolled onto her back, placing her hand in Severus’ as she looked back up at the sky.

Severus smiled broadly, looking at his and Lily’s hands clasped tightly together in happy disbelief.

Once again, Severus waved his hand and the scene changed, showing various memories of Severus’ life at Hogwarts. She saw Severus excel in school, so brilliant that he could even stump the professors at Hogwarts with his intellectual prowess. The young Severus even created his own spells and potions, though the purpose of these inventions were not entirely admirable. Cecily watched as repeatedly Severus was bullied by James Potter and his friends Remus, Peter, and Sirius. They called him Snivellus, a rather cruel and unimaginative nickname, and made it their purpose to scare and torment him. She felt that because of this Severus began to seek acceptance elsewhere, falling in with a bad-crowd of aspiring Death Eaters. Lily tried to voice her concern for him countless times, but to no avail. Cecily and Severus watched sadly as young Lily and Severus slowly continued to grow apart at Hogwarts. So much so that Lily even stopped meeting Severus at the park where they had originally met. Severus continued to visit the park every day and every holiday when he was home…hoping that maybe Lily would show—but she never did. In their seventh year at Hogwarts, Severus heard that Lily and James were going steady. This broke his heart and the darkness within him seemed to deepen. She watched as Severus finished out his time at Hogwarts, angry and alone in everything he did. Even with his band of Death Eater friends surrounding him, he was alone. He had lost the one person that he cared about in this world…to Potter.

Severus was looking at Cecily as he waved his hand, allowing the scene to melt away. They were now standing in empty space, silvery mist hanging about them eerily. There was a long pause between them before Severus spoke again, softly. “I should warn you Cecily…many of my memories from here on could be terrifying for you. Perhaps, even change your opinion of me. Are you certain that you wish to continue?”

Cecily nodded, tugging at her sleeve. “If you are comfortable showing me, then I’d like to continue.”

“I can never be comfortable with my past, Cecily. I have done terrible things that do not deserve to be forgiven. Before your feelings for me deepen, you deserve to know how I became the man I am now. Understand, however, that on the path to knowledge and understanding we find burdens…some heavier than others.”

“It sounds like you’re trying to talk me out of it.” Cecily said accusingly, narrowing her eyes at Severus slightly.

“No…I am simply offering you the option of changing your mind.”

Cecily approached Severus and gently placed her hands on his chest as she looked up into his dark, black eyes. “I’m not changing my mind, Severus.”

Severus placed his hand over one of hers and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement before pulling away from her and turning his back to her. He lifted his hand, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath before waving it in an arch. As he let his hand drop back down to his side, a new scene jumped into existence around them. They were now in a rather dingy and dirty looking pub. Cecily would have mistaken it for an empty cellar, if not for the bar and the fact that there were windows. At least, she thought there were windows. The windows were so encrusted with dust and grime that it was impossible to see to the outside. Even the pub’s floor was so filthy that she had assumed it was actually an earthen floor. There were rough, wood tables set around the space, with mismatched chairs and stools. The center of the tables each had four or five candle stubs melted to their surface. At one of the tables in the darkest corner, sat a Severus who could be no older than nineteen. He was dressed far-better now than what he had been when he was a child. However, he was still thin and maintained the ashen skin. His hair was a little longer, hanging down a couple inches past his shoulders. Some stray strands hung in his eyes, as he slowly turned his drink that he was slouched over in his hands.

The barkeep came over to his table, placing his knuckles on its surface as he looked at Severus and whispered. “I’m going to have to cut you off. You’re giving me a fair bit of business, but I wouldn’t feel right ‘bout letting you leave here when you can’t find your feet.”

Severus raised his head slightly and looked at him. There was a bruise covering Severus’ swollen-shut eye and his lip was split open. “Well, lucky for you I’m far from being so inebriated that I can’t find my own feet.” He then slid his glass in front of the barkeep. “I’ll have another, if you’ll be so kind.”

“I’m sorry, I wouldn’t be kind getting you another. Especially with you being alone and all.” The barkeep said, not unkindly, as he slid the empty glass back toward Severus.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m waiting for someone then. As I said, I’ll have another…” Severus took out his wand, pointing it at the barkeep under the table as he muttered “Obliviate” under his breath.

The barkeep blinked stupidly, before looking back at Severus and smiling. “Can I get you another?”

“That would be greatly appreciated.” Severus said, pulling out some muggle money and pushing it and his empty glass toward the barkeep once more. “…and bring the bottle, if you would.”

The barkeep smiled and nodded. “You got it!” He took the money and Severus’ empty glass and brought him a fresh drink, setting it in front of him with a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky.

It didn’t take Severus long to drain this one too, smacking his lips and sighing aloud as it burned its way down his chest.

“Where are we?” Cecily asked, looking at the Severus that she knew. “…and who are you waiting for?”

“We’re currently in a muggle pub that resides in Spinner’s End…where I was raised.” Severus replied patiently. “The rest, however, you’ll find out for yourself shortly.”

Cecily was about to say something else, when the door to the pub opened and the bell on the door tinkled gently. It was probably also covered in filth, causing it to be quieter than it normally would have been.

The person who walked in was heavily cloaked as they scanned the pub. When they saw Severus they immediately walked in his direction, their steps hurried. When they reached him, they knelt down onto the dirty floor. A woman’s hand reached out from under the cloak, turning his face toward her. “What did he do to you?” She asked, sadness and anger in her voice.

The young Severus closed his eyes tightly and leaned against the woman’s hand as a tear slid down his face. “You came…” He whispered softly, in disbelief.

The woman finally pulled down her hood, revealing long, red hair that tumbled down to the center of her back. She stood and pulled a low stool up beside Severus, placing her hand over his on the table. She noticed the knuckles of his hand were bloody and cut open. She looked between them and Severus’ face in deep concern. “Tell me what happened…”

“Lily…I…” Severus choked back a sob and shook his head, more tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he grabbed the bottle to pour himself another drink.

Lily placed her hand on his arm, lowering the bottle back down onto the table. “Severus…” She urged softly.

“I…he…he w-wouldn’t stop, Lily. He kept hitting her. I yelled…I told him to st-st-stop…but he wouldn’t!” Tears rolled down Severus’ face as he wiped them away angrily with the back of his hand, sniffling. “Her wand was on the floor…I picked it up and then I p-pointed it at him. He got angry…so angry, Lily. He grabbed me and he-he…” Severus pointed at his face with a shaking hand as he looked at Lily, his face twisting in pain with the anger and sadness he felt.

Lily moved her hand back and forth across Severus’ back gently, trying to soothe him as she continued to keep her other hand on his forearm. “Your father…has he hit you before?”

Severus nodded his head, swallowing hard. “But…I’ve never hit him back. Until now…”

Lily’s eyes automatically snapped back onto the knuckles of his hands. “Sev…” She breathed.

“I hit him hard, Lily…and I couldn’t st-stop! I j-just kept hitting him and hitting him…” Severus was shaking now at the memory, tears flowing down his face. “…and then…oh Lily, please don’t hate me…I-I picked up my mother’s wand again and I…I used the Cruciatus Curse on him.”

Lily exhaled as if the wind had been knocked out of her. “Oh, Sev…you didn’t…”

“I did, Lily…until he stopped moving.” Severus lowered his voice to barely a whisper. “When I checked on her, Lily…she was lying there…all broken and blood…she wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing. He wouldn’t stop…He k-killed her…she was g-gone!” Severus sobbed, squeezing his hand around his empty glass.

Lily poured Severus a drink this time, squeezing his shoulder lightly as tears welled up in her eyes. “Have you contacted the ministry?”

Severus threw back his head as emptied his glass, shaking his head. “No, she didn’t die a magical death, Lily. The neighbors must have called the muggle police though. I saw the sirens and panicked...I apparated here…” Severus pulled out a second wand and placed it on the table—his mother’s wand. “The muggle police will assume he went mad on his own and killed her. It’s not far from the truth…”

“Severus, you need to tell someone what happened…”

Severus cut her off sharply, “No, Lily! I’m supposed to be applying for a teaching position at Hogwarts soon…I can’t have this following me. That…That…waste of flesh and bone has taken my mother from me, he needs to pay! I won’t pay his due for him! If I told the ministry I used an unforgiveable curse…they’d lock me up, Lily!” Severus’ face suddenly went blank as he looked at Lily, as if seeing her for the first time. “Lily, you mustn’t tell anyone…”

Lily shook her head, “Sev, of course I…”

Severus grasped Lily by her upper arms, harder than he intended. His eyes going large in fear. “Swear, Lily…you have to swear not to say anything!”

Lily looked at him for a long moment. “I swear, Severus. No one will know.”

This seemed to relax Severus a bit as he let go of Lily’s upper arms, slouching in his chair.

Lily continued to look at Severus. “Where will you go?” She asked, quietly.

Severus shrugged. “I could probably stay with Avery or Mulciber until I start teaching.”

“You still associate yourself with them?” Lily asked, looking rather annoyed at this news. “Why send me an owl then?”

Severus swallowed several times before speaking. “They don’t know that my father is…is a…”

“A muggle?” Lily finished, angrily. “Making you a  _Mudblood_ , yes?”

Severus flinched at the word, understanding full well why Lily had thrown it at him. For he, himself, had called her a Mudblood once. “I’m so sorry Lily…” Severus shook his head, burying his face in his hands as he cried. “I was so stupid…I’m so sorry…Please, Lily…please forgive me.”

Lily’s shoulders fell slightly in regret as she gently touched Severus’ knee. “There’s nothing to forgive, Sev. We were children. I think you need to find a way to forgive yourself.” Lily looked up at the clock on the wall. “I have to go…James will worry if I’m late.”

Lily stood and threw her cloak around her shoulders and pulled her hood up, she touched Severus on the shoulder as she was about to leave but Severus caught her hand in his, squeezing it gently. “Thank you…” He whispered. “For coming.”

Lily leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Always.” She then kissed him softly on his cheek and left the pub.

The young Severus closed his eyes against the feel of Lily’s lips against his skin, not opening them again until he heard the soft tinkle of the bell as the pub’s door closed behind Lily.

Cecily looked at the Severus that she knew as the scene fell away and they were once again standing in the mist. "Did you...Is he...your father...?"

"Dead?" Severus asked, raising his brow at Cecily slightly.

Cecily nodded, twisting her hands nervously.

Severus watched as Cecily twisted her hands. "Yes...but not by my hand." Severus' mouth curled slightly in a reassuring smile. "His sanity also managed to remained fully intact...the damage that I did to him was merely physical. I suppose that is lucky...for me, at least."

"How did he die?" Cecily asked, feeling slightly ashamed by her abrupt question. 

"A very boring muggle death in a muggle prison, nearly two years ago." Severus said, almost sounding bored at the notion of his father's death. "He lived longer than I would of thought deserving...but he paid for the life he took."

Cecily nodded her head, looking at her feet. She felt terrible for what Severus had to go through so early in his life.

"Cecily...perhaps we should stop here." Severus said, softly. "I can see that just this memory alone has upset you and I promise you...that the worse of it is yet to come."

Cecily shook her head. "No, Severus...please, let's continue."

Severus nodded curtly, "As you wish..." Severus clenched his jaw tightly as he lifted his hand. He prayed to any God that would listen that he would not lose Cecily too. He waved his hand, and they were off to his next memory.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


	10. A Penny For Your Pensive (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Artwork coming soon)

Severus grabbed Cecily’s arm to steady her as she stumbled slightly, she was still not accustomed to the transitions in memory. A small room had just formed around them to replace Severus’ previous memory. He sighed softly as he took in the familiar space. It was a small living room that was rather sparse, possibly due to the packing boxes half-unpacked. The only furniture was a red over-stuffed couch and two matching armchairs. There was an old china cabinet in the corner, filled with various photographs that moved in their frames. There was also an old grandfather clock by the front door that was missing its pendulum.

“Now where are we?” Cecily asked, also looking around the small room. She would have mistaken the home for belonging to muggles, if not for the moving photographs and the lone feather duster cleaning the ceiling fan above them.

Severus turned his head to look at the grandfather clock by the front door. “Not long now…” He muttered to himself, crossing his arms and leaning his back against the wall. He kept looking between the front door and the landing of the stairs that led from the living room…waiting.

The room grew so quiet that Cecily could hear her own pulse in her ears. She thought about asking him something just to break the silence but the sound of the doorbell chime managed to do it for her. Cecily jumped slightly as the noise cut sharply through the silence.

“Just a moment!” A woman called from upstairs.

Cecily looked at Severus, who had his eyes practically glued to the stairs, unblinking as if he were afraid to miss even a moment.

Suddenly, a young Lily Evans descended the stairs, hurriedly drawing her hair up into a ponytail as the doorbell rang again. “Be right there!” She called out again, stopping in front of the mirror next to the great grandfather clock to check her hair. She then scoffed as she noticed the dirty apron tied about her waist.

As she clumsily untied the apron Cecily could not help but stare at her due to their resemblance. Cecily guessed that Lily must be in her early twenties. Though they did look alike, Cecily began to notice that they also had their differences. Lily stood a few inches taller than Cecily and Lily’s hair was also a shade darker than her own. Lily had a sweet and out-going voice compared to Cecily’s quiet and shy tones. Lily also had a confident grace about her that Cecily truly envied.

Lily checked her reflection once more before smiling and opening the front door. “Sev!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around the man on her doorstep.

“Hello, Lily.” He responded, hugging her tightly in return as he closed his eyes and pressed the side of his face close to her.

They hugged for a long time until Lily cleared her throat softly and pulled away gently, taking his hands in hers. “No sense catching up on the doorstep…” She smiled nervously, but happily, as she pulled him inside. “Come in! I’ll put on some tea.” Lily led the man into the living room and motioned for him to sit. “Make yourself at home, I’ll be back in a jiff.” With that, she smiled and disappeared into the kitchen.

Severus smiled after her, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking around the room. He noticed the china cabinet full of photos and walked over to it, scowling darkly at a photo of her and James at the very front. He turned his back to the cabinet and sat heavily on the couch, continuing to look around him with dull, bored eyes.

He was younger, his hair was a bit shorter, and he seemed paler than usual with heavy, dark bags under his eyes…but this man could be none other than Severus Snape. Cecily looked at the Severus she knew questioningly, but he only placed his finger to his lips and nodded his head in indication for her to pay attention.

“So…where’s John?” He asked, ice in his voice.

Lily came back into the living room with a tray containing a steaming pot of tea, two teacups with saucers, milk, and sugar. She smiled cheerful as she sat down and poured Severus a cup, handing it to him. “You know his name, Sev. Honestly, if you two would just…”

Severus took the cup from Lily’s hand, touching the back of her hand with his long, beautiful fingers. “Just what?” He asked, “Get on?” He scoffed in derision, taking his cup gently from Lily’s hands and leaning back into the couch. “No, thank you. I had my fill of Potter at Hogwarts…or have you forgotten?”

Lily sighed sadly, gently blowing across the surface of her tea before taking a careful sip. “I remember, Sev.” She looked at him for a long moment as she put a sugar cube in her tea. “But…Hogwarts was so long ago, he’s changed since then…honest.”

Severus lowered his cup from his mouth, turning it in his hand as he looked away from Lily, focusing on the cup instead. “Just answer me one question, Lily…Does he even know that I’m here?”

Lily looked down at her own hands holding her cup, her cheeks coloring as she seemed lost for a response.

Severus sighed deeply then. “No…I thought not.” He said under his breath.

“It’s not what you think, Sev.” She said, almost pleadingly. “He’s just…he…well…” The smile faded from Lily’s lips as her eyes became wet with tears that threatened to fall. “He’s just not home very much as of late…He’s always with Albus, doing important work for the Order I’m certain.” She put her cup down on t he tray and sniffled, standing to turn her back to Severus.

Severus looked almost ashamed as he placed his cup gently on the tray. He stood and approached Lily, carefully placing his hands on her upper arms and squeezing gently. “It wasn’t my intention to upset you, Lily.” He whispered softly against her ear. “When you need me, you know that I am here for you.”

Lily turned around to face him. “Do you mean that, Sev? …Truly?”

Severus smiled at her gently, nodding as he wiped a tear from her face. “Always.” He then stared into her eyes for a long moment, looking from one to the other.

Lily smiled and wiped her face with her hands, laughing nervously. “Oh bugger, I’m a mess.” She sniffled and hung her head slightly, looking at the floor.

“No…” Severus shook his head, tilting her chin up to look into her eyes again. “You’re as beautiful as ever, Lily.”

As they looked at one another, something in Lily’s eyes seemed to change, as if she were seeing Severus truly for the very first time. Slowly, Lily leaned into Severus, moving her slightly shaking hands up his arms and over his chest.

“Lily, what…?” But Severus was cut off by Lily’s finger pressed against his lips.

Lily then moved her hand behind Severus’ neck and pulled him down to her as she stood on the tips of her toes, pressing her lips against his softly. Severus gasped sharply as if he had been burned and pulled away from the kiss, pushing Lily gently backward as he gripped her shoulders. There was such a look of conflicting pain and desire etched on his face as he looked at Lily. Lily looked back at him, breathing heavily as she shrugged his hands off of her shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back into her and kissing him more insistently.

Severus gave into her, kissing her in return as a tear slipped down his face. “Lily…” Severus whispered between their lips before kissing her passionately again.

“Sev…” She whispered back, as she worked at the buttons of his shirt. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he picked her up, carrying her down the hall next to the staircase.

Cecily heard them shut the door to the bedroom, shaking her head in disbelief as she looked back at the Severus she knew. “So…you and Lily Evans…”

But Severus did not allow her to finish her thought as he waved his hand, the scene around them changing once again. He kept his eyes forward, not looking at Cecily. They were in the same house as before, but it wasn’t quite as sparse. There was more furniture, photos, and various trinkets and ornaments. The old grandfather clock also appeared to have its pendulum again, it must have been stored away in one of the packing boxes when they were here last. It was lyre styled and the surface of the medallion was engraved with a rather ornate fleur de lis. There was a radio playing somewhere in another room of the house and Cecily could faintly hear someone humming along softly.

Once again there was the sound of the doorbell and Lily came into view from the kitchen. She looked confused as she checked the grandfather clock, looking back at the door as she untied her apron. She didn’t look like she was expecting company. She laid her apron over the back of one of the over-stuffed chairs and opened the front door a couple inches. “Sev!” She exclaimed, opening the door wider. “What are you…?”

Severus pushed the door open even wider and stepped through, quickly shutting it again behind him. The bags under his eyes were darker than ever and his skin all the more sallow. He didn’t even look at Lily as he instead turned his attention to the window and moved the curtain a couple inches aside to cautiously peer outside.

“Severus…Sev, what’s wrong?” Lily asked, trying to get some sort of response from him.

Appearing satisfied, Severus finally let the curtain fall back over the window as he turned to look at Lily again. “Is it true?” He asked, stepping toward Lily.

“W…what?” Lily breathed, exhaling in astonishment as she took a couple steps back.

“Is. It. True?” He asked again, putting emphasize on every word as he stared into her eyes.

Lily turned her back to him, wringing her hands and looking almost fearful. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sev.”

This seemed to anger Severus as he grabbed Lily by the forearm and spun her around, pressing his face in close to hers his voice seething in a low whisper. “Don’t...” he said, putting his finger in her face. “Do not lie to me.” He looked more hurt than angry. "Everyone lies to me...everyone...Don't you dare start!"

Lily glared at him, but said nothing, determined to return his gaze and not falter.

“Well!?” He said, raising his voice and shaking her slightly.

“Yes!” She yelled back, ripping her arm from his grip. “Yes…it’s true.” She whispered softly as she sat on the couch, sighing deeply as she placed her head in her shaking hands.

Severus stood frozen, looking for all the world stunned and bewildered. All the air had been knocked out of his lungs as he grabbed the back of a chair to steady himself.

For a long while, all that could be heard was the radio as they were frozen in silence, tension hanging heavily in the air.

Severus finally slowly sank into the chair that he was using to support himself. He looked at Lily, swallowing a couple times before whispering hoarsely, “What happens now?”

Lily lifted her head from her hands, brushing away a tear from her cheek as she shook her head. “I don’t know, Sev.”

He nodded, looking at a photo of James and Lily sitting on the coffee table. He quickly looked away from it and focused his gaze instead on a blank spot of wall. “Does…does James know?”

Lily shook her head again, looking down at her hands. “Not yet.”

Silence once more fell between them as they both sank into their own private thoughts. Both confused and scared, but neither knowing how to comfort the other.

Severus was the first to come back to his senses, he stood and slowly sat beside Lily, gently taking one of her hands in both of his. “I…well…what I mean is…that is, if you’d like. We…we could…” Severus swallowed hard, shaking his head slightly, trying to find the words. “Come with me, Lily. I haven’t much…but we could…”

Lily took her hand from him, looking at him like he had gone mad. “We? We could nothing, Sev!” She stood, turning away from Severus and standing behind one of the chairs to put some distance between them, resting her hands on the back of it. “I’m married…to James. I can’t just go with you.”

Severus stood, nostrils flaring as he scoffed. “So…even now, you choose him?” Severus asked, a deep pain settling in his eyes as he looked at Lily with such deep longing.

“Always Severus…” She whispered, finding the courage to look back into Severus’ eyes. “I will always choose him.”

Severus clenched his fists at his side, digging his nails deep into his palms as tears welled in his eyes and threatened to fall. He looked as if he were going to say something but instead he picked up the photo of Lily and James on the coffee table and whipped it at the wall. As the frame shattered, he rushed out of the house, slamming the door behind him and never looking back.

Lily knelt beside the broken frame, carefully pulling the photo from the broken pieces and clutching it to her chest. She sobbed heavily, laying down on the floor.

Cecily looked at the Severus that she knew, his mouth was set in a straight line, but his eyes were filled with regret as he watched Lily wracked with sobs on the floor. Cecily reached out to touch his shoulder, but he instead grabbed her wrist and pointed his wand upward. Cecily felt a lurch as they were pulled up and shot out of the pensive to topple onto the cold, stone floor of his office.

This time, Cecily was able to find her balance and sat at one of the chairs in front of Severus’ desk. Her legs wobbled and she felt exhausted.

“There are still more memories that I intend to show you.” He prodded the surface of the pensive with his wand, examining it carefully before taking a seat behind his desk. He placed his wand in a drawer of his desk and put the pensive off to the side as he knitted his fingers together, looking at Cecily. “However, we’ll have to explore those another day.”

Cecily leaned her head back against the back of the chair. “If we aren’t done, then why did we stop?” She asked, crossing her legs to sit more comfortably.

Severus looked Cecily up and down before responding. “It’s easy to lose track of time when inside the pensive.” He quirked the corner of his mouth into a small smile and pointed at the clock on the wall.

It was approaching the wee hours of the morning, she had missed her rounds entirely. Cecily groaned, putting her hands over her face. She had never once shirked her duties and was feeling rather ashamed of herself. Worse yet, she would be marked down for missing rounds. Her perfect record would be marred by this absence.

Severus laughed softly, seeing the panic etched plainly on her face. “It has already been taken care of, Cecily. I am your head of house, after all.”

Cecily glared at him, but relaxed a bit knowing that her record remained untarnished. Suddenly, what she had last seen in the pensive had come back to her, her curiosity piqued “In the last memory you showed me, what were you and Lily so afraid of? What was true?” She asked, sitting up straight.

 “You will have to practice your patience and wait until we have the opportunity to use the pensive again.” Severus stood from his desk and walked toward his office door, opening it for her. “Until then, you should return to your house and sleep.”

Cecily stood and walked toward the door, stopping to look up at Severus. “I think this is the first time you’ve kicked me out of your office.” She smiled gently and laughed.

Severus chuckled and put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her out of his office and into the empty potion’s classroom. “It wouldn’t be decent for a professor to have a student behind closed doors this late into the night.” He shut his office door and then pulled Cecily back so that her back was pressed against it. He stepped into her and slowly moved his hand to the back of her neck, looking into her eyes.

Cecily bit her bottom lip and laughed playfully, but nervously as she whispered. “I suppose you should kick me out more often then, I’d hate for you to be caught being…indecent.”

Severus smiled at her and moved his thumb along her jawline, looking intently at her lips as he slowly moved his face in closer to hers.

Cecily’s heart jumped into her throat as she swallowed hard, licking her lips briefly to make sure they weren’t dry as she lifted her face slowly toward his, looking between his lips and his dark, beautiful eyes focused intently on her own lips.

Just then, Severus moved his face slightly to the side to kiss her cheek gently as he whispered, “Goodnight, Cecily.” Before pulling away, smiling at her mischievously as he left the classroom.

Cecily groaned and made her way back to her prefect’s quarters, cursing him as she laid her head down to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written by myself, H. M. Frost. I encourage readers to comment and share their feedback. This fan-fiction is still in development; however, I have been told by many that it is still an excellent read. So please, share your thoughts!


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